Her Eyes
by docmadi96
Summary: Based off of the whole fiasco of Season 10 with the "Miami Taunter". Esteban Navarro gets the ultimate gift that he simply cannot waste, Calleigh Duquesne. Not for the faint hearts out there, you've been warned. Heavy tones of adult themes.
1. Meeting Her

Her Eyes

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami or any of its affiliates, that's all Jerry Bruckheimer and his amazingness.

I'm new to this and this is my first story, so bear with me here. Any suggestions you have I will take, because your reactions are what matter. So I'll just leave you guys here and I hope you enjoy.

(AN: My computer fuzzed out while i was updating and deleted everything, so sorry for all this bruhaha! I've got to update everything! ugh its okay because i have my first draft here)

Her eyes are so intriguing, quite easy to just get lost in. So much spark to just add to his collection. No, he wanted all of her, body, mind, soul, and especially those lovely emerald green eyes.

He immediately noticed them as he sat down in the interrogation room. She would be fun to just play with. When she spoke, it blew him away. That Southern accent was entirely enchanting to listen to. He couldn't listen to the words she was saying, something about a girl he killed, her voice was amazing. Now his irritation from being dragged away from his "work" was just dust in the wind. His collection could wait; he was just drawn to her. The rest of her was just as amazing as her eyes, oh those eyes, and her voice. Despite her heels you can tell that she was a petite, her platinum blonde hair shown gold in the sun, cheekbones and smile lines showed that her smile must be a killer (he grinned a bit at that word). She was a spitfire and she showcased it as if she didn't know that. Humble, that's a good attribute he thought, a complete opposite of what he was. Her eyes were extremely expressive. You can tell everything she was thinking by just looking into her eyes. Curiosity was sparked in her eyes as she caught the previous grin. He just stared and gave his usual cocky reply. You can see all of her emotions and yet there was a block, a brick wall so to speak, that kept you from completely being mesmerized in her eyes. He longed to know the secrets hidden behind that brick wall of hers. Longed to know why she was distancing herself from showing her full emotions from people. Reading her posture and from past knowledge gathered from his powerful father, he knows she's had a troubling childhood, and decides to save that for safe keeping. With that note he decides that from this moment he will be the one to break that wall.

Calleigh Duquesne will be the first live piece in his collection. For letting those eyes dull with death would be a great shame. Esteban Navarro will have her, no matter what.


	2. Drawing Attention

Her eyes 2

Calleigh didn't like the way Esteban was glaring at her during interrogation, like he was trying to look past her body and into her soul. It was unnerving but she wouldn't let him know that. Almost as if he wasn't listening to her only hearing to answer a question. After that uneasy interrogation she decided to return back to her lab. Reaching the door she felt eyes on her and she turned to see Navarro just staring at her with the same stupid grin on his face. The feeling of uneasiness returned and she walked away to shake it off. Boy, she can't wait to wipe that cocky grin off of his face.

Navarro on the other hand loves the fact that she can feel him. Relishes that she can sense him, and concludes that they have a connection growing and it needs to keep growing. It is the only reason, the only logical explanation, as to why she looked back to make eye contact with him. His grin turns into a smile as she quickly walks off, in his eyes, to shake the growing connection between them. Sitting in the back of his car, he sees the lieutenant, high and almighty, staring. It wasn't so much of a stare as it was a glare, but it was hilarious to see. Navarro just laughs it off, no type of threats were being received by him. If the lieutenant thought the situation at hand was bad, then what he was concocting at the moment is nothing compared to the lieutenant's worst nightmares.

Horatio watched from afar as Calleigh walks away from interrogation. He sees the look behind back into the room at Navarro and walk off with a new set of determination. Her determination was a trait he immediately picked up on as soon as he laid eyes on her. Being a woman in a majority male work demographic is a challenge as it is. Hot only was she intelligent, she has more loyalty and drive that any other person in the building. Sometimes she out does him, if he was being completely honest. It is a setback for her because her outward appearance often jades the qualities that matter in life. Petite, blonde, fair skinned, she's often overlooked. Though that has come in handy a large amount of time, it must be tiring to be judged before you can prove yourself. Though he hasn't been spending a lot of time with her since Speedle's death, he can pick up on her emotions, and right now he can sense the discomfort wafting off her in waves and he knows exactly why she's currently experiencing this discomfort. Navarro was obviously guilty, and just as intelligent and clever as the CSIs themselves. That smile he currently has plastered on his face starts the same feeling of discomfort Calleigh was experiencing. Almost like something was about to happen, but it wasn't making an appearance. That same feeling of suspense you get from watching a thriller, the same feeling of dread he had the day Speed died, the day Eric was shot, the day Marisol was killed, and the days Calleigh was in the hospital for smoke inhalation. He promised himself to look out for anything weird in the next couple days, weeks, or months if he has to. Watching Navarro get into his car, making eye contact, and sending a warning glare, and receivong one right back. It was almost as if Navarro was conveying a message of dire proportions. Whenever that promise was to be acted on, Horatio vows to make sure that the best man comes out on top.


	3. Game Plan

I lost this chapter in the contraption I call my laptop, so I edited it to what it was supposed to be.

Navarro returned to his work a day later hoping word of his current personal life didn't reach the ears of his patients. If they found out then they'd find a new doctor to go to, and they were the ones that were keeping his addiction in line. Being able to see all those beautiful green eyes everyday was all that kept him from snatching girls up from off the streets.

Each patient that walked through his door that day though, couldn't help him relax him at all. Every time he focused on the patient, she would pop up in his mind. Her eyes were just perfect, that sparkle just blew his mind through the roof.

How can she work in such a challenging environment and still have that spark in her eyes. She's tough, really tough, he concluded. No one he's ever come across was as tough as she was, men and women alike. He's seen the news he reads newspapers, he knows what she's been through for the past ten years. Reading and researching up on her last night really has its advantages.

All of those things just confirmed that she is more than just a pretty face. Her strength was added to his list of her perfection. He desperately needs her, needs those eyes, that body, and just her. Nothing is going to keep him from obtaining her.

He just needs to make sure that the great lieutenant stays out of his way, and to make sure Calleigh is comfortable where he puts her. In order for that to happen, he has to get to know her in a more personal level.

Relief was evident on his face and he had to just chuckle off this situation he found himself in. He did all this to make sure she was comfortable by seeing her personally, and how personal can it get without checking out her house.

Her home was just as impeccable as she was when he first laid eyes on her. Her living room was very stylish and played off of her personality well. Bright, vibrant, and lively, a mix of her southern heritage and Miami flare. She was very well dressed and her home just proved that she earned the brands and not just wore it. She wasn't flaunting her wealth and the state of her home was just as modest as she was.

Her kitchen was surprisingly full of fresh food, not the mountain of takeout boxes he imagined. Her soon –to-be former home smelled strongly of vanilla and fragrant lavender. She has a kitten! That was more surprising than her kitchen. It was a ball of fluffiness that he could ever dream of.

Taking note of the kitten he walked into the most anticipated room of all, her bedroom. It was pristine, pristine to the max. Everything had a place and knew its place, it was just immaculate. He opened her closet and drawers, knowing that she wouldn't care about him looking around. All of her clothes were color and thread coded; even her underwear, which by the way were folded.

In her nightgown drawer there was one that was calling to him. It was green, green just like her eyes, and incredibly soft.

Made of cotton, lace, and slightly worn, he ached knowing that this must be her favorite. It smelled like she was wearing it in his arms, he's never ached this much without having a subject in front of him. She worked him over and he bet she knows that.

He heads to her bathroom, stuffing the nightgown in his pocket, knowing that he has only 30 minutes or less. This room was just gorgeous, like her bedroom everything has a place. He looked in her shower and sees shampoo and conditioner and takes a whiff.

My god was that an exhilarating smell. Vanilla seems to be her favorite scent. Taking note of that as well, he turns toward her Jacuzzi. She has a variety of bubbles and bath salts lined along the bath. Picking up the emptier ones, he smiles at the scents, vanilla and lavender. He starts to imagine her in the nightgown laying down snuggling into his chest, fresh from a bubble bath.

He fantasizes her eyes staring into his, vanilla just wafting around him as she kissed him. His fantasy was interrupted by her front door opening, never in his life has he ever flown across a room so quick. He went out her bedroom window just as she entered barely closing it.

He watched as she slipped out of her clothes, looking at the amazing view he had of her walking. My god she was a sight to see, better looking with her clothes off than on. She slips into the tub after picking up the bath salts he clumsily thrown on the counter. Too bad the current view allotted didn't allow for him to see her relax.

He did see how she popped up out of the tub quick. Almost as if she's been startled into getting out. She must've sensed him like she did yesterday, a sign that they are meant to be. She walks back into the room sulking, and her kitten wanders in. she smiles and pets Kevin and nothing but adoration is in her voice. He cannot wait until she speaks to him like that, with nothing but complete love and heart.

He fingers the nightgown in his pocket and just loves how she feels about this. She was obviously looking for it and he can see the obscenities pour from her mouth as she frantically looks for it. Walking back to his car he thinks of the collection he is going to start of her favorite things.

The nightgown is going into a bag to help preserve her scent and will be the first item. Reaching his playground he quickly does away with the girl he's had since last night. She was boring him, especially since Calleigh walked into his life. The girl was supposed to take his mind off of "her" but it did nothing to quell the ache in his chest, heart, and groins. Delivering the final blow, he sighs in frustration.

Yet pleasure was there as well, the pleasure of knowing that Calleigh will be his soon, and the sooner the better

Calleigh returns home from yet another day of work and can't wait to just jump into bed. Today was just a bone tiring day, the entire work load that was already dumped on her and the whole "Miami Taunter" case just added to her stress.

A bubble bath is in order she decided, running and stripping all the way to her Jacuzzi. She frowned when she realized that her favorite bubbles and bath salts were not where they usually were. Finding them on the bathroom counter she figures she must've just moved them in her rush this morning.

Pouring in her favorite scent she relaxed completely in the foamy bath, trying to forget the day for now. Nothing is going her way lately, nothing at all. That feeling of heavy anticipation just weighed down on her again. It was the same feeling she had earlier during and after interrogation. She thought it was best to just go to sleep as fast as she can.

The only excitement she has is going all toward her favorite nightgown. It was the same color as her eyes and was soft on her skin and just was pleasant to be in. She just loved the way she felt in it and it didn't hurt that she looked great in it too.

Oh great, her nightgown was gone. She must've put it in the laundry by accident, great she sighed, looks like it's going to be a tank and boxer shorts night. Huffing, she resigns to bed with defeat.


	4. Suspicion Rises

4

"Calleigh Duquesne, her name just rolls off your tongue. Though I have to say Calleigh Navarro oozes perfection", thought Navarro as he lies down on his bed, his object of obsession's nightgown lying beside him, on her spot. Her favorite scent just drifts over to him, creeping into his mind. He can't wait to see her in it, beside him, cuddling him, snuggling, he drifts off to sleep in complete peace. The power of just knowing she'll be home soon gives him comfort.

Waking up incredibly well rested and before her alarm clock, Calleigh shuffles out of bed and gets ready for work. Her luck runs out when she gets called into a scene with the same MO as the "Miami Taunter". Grabbing a bagel and coffee she heads out to the callout.

In the hummer she decides to just be in silence, to give herself some time to think. Last night was really strange, she felt at peace despite her horrible day. So peaceful that she woke up calm, and collected. She felt like she had an angel watching over her, she just felt safe. Then this whole "Taunter" business had to surface and ruin her morning. Arriving at the scene she grabs her kit and meets up with everything.

"What do we have?" Calleigh asks catching up to speed in the situation. "A couple of hikers found the body, not exactly the nature walk they were hoping for." Eric adds sarcastically, just as frustrated as she was. "Same MO as the others?" Calleigh asks snapping on her gloves and evaluating the scene. The girl was just like the others, with the difference of dumping. This poor girl was just thrown, and by the state of the drag marks, the car was still moving. This depressed Calleigh to no end, her extra energy acquired this morning left her body in one quick rush.

Eric was quick to pick up on Calleigh's change of attitude. It was that of defeat, the same posture she took when they decided to break it off for good. He wants to talk to her about what was up, but he knew that right now she wouldn't say anything. He decides to just take an impression of tire treads found near the dumpsite.

"This is such a passive dump, thrown out as if she was a can of coke." Horatio looks at the body saddened by the state of the poor girl. He has to take a double look, because that girl is almost an exact replica of Calleigh. Small, blonde, and green eyed, the only difference was the fact that this girl was dressed for a night on the town, the usual victim profile.

"She seems like she fits the usual for the 'Taunter', a prostitute and the obvious signs of torture and eyes removed." Horatio observes. With that he jumps up and walks off, Calleigh and Eric can handle this scene. He jumps into his hummer and just drives off, destination unknown even to himself.

Calleigh watches Horatio take off without so much a warning leaves her frazzled. Hours later she doesn't like where any of this is going, there is no evidence what so ever. She leaves Eric to finish with all the tire impressions and heads to the lab. This time however, she blasts music to help relaxing her nerves.

Horatio driving through the streets of Miami makes a split decision to go check out Calleigh's house. He just wants to make sure that everything is in check and nothing is out of place. Pulling into her driveway, he takes notice of the very serene ambiance. Chuckling at the situation, it was the calm before the storm. He walks in grateful that his key is still able to turn the lock. She changed around her furniture, and he could only guess that everything was in order.

Seeing as it has been years since he last stepped foot in her home. Looking at her photos, he notices that there is a lot of them with the team, and without him. The last photo with him is right before he met Marisol. That was over five years ago, and since he lost Marisol, he barely even worked with Calleigh on the job. Guilt rises in his chest and he promises that he will make sure that he will change this as soon as Miami returns to its safer side.

Without looking into her bedroom he comes to the conclusion that the inside is untouched. Looking around the outside of the house he finds a different story. There are depressions made by feet that look fresh, and with that he jumps straight into dusting the window. He growls when he can only find useless smudges, anger coursing through him. He knows it has to be Navarro, because the body turning up and these feet depressions outside Calleigh's bedroom couldn't be a coincidence.

There was no way in hell he'd let anything happen to Calleigh, she was the only one left from the original team, who hadn't died, or resigned. Though he never let her know, she was like a daughter to him, and she was his reason for still being alive. If she was taken by Navarro, he could never live with himself, and he would take his life knowing that he just took hers.


	5. Wake Up Call

5

Yeaaaaaaaaaah, here's the next chapter! And whoever it was that just left a review, thank you a whole lot. I've been staring at my computer trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing. I've always wanted to space the earlier chapters in a more readable way. Thank you for the kick in the ass.

Horatio and Calleigh reached the lab within ten minutes between each other, with Horatio reaching first. This results in him pacing right in front of the elevator, worrying everyone who could see him. His irrational side told him Navarro already got to her, while the rational side just guessed she was stuck in traffic or maybe still at the scene. Both of those sides were causing immense worry.

If he called her all that would happen is her avoiding him, he had to do this in person. This waiting is killing him, and he's pretty sure that the staff is starting to doubt his sanity. With the ding that vibrates through the entire building, he jumps at the elevator hoping that Calleigh is on it. As fate has it she is, and he promises to thank God for that, and he jumps at her pulling her to the side. "Sweetheart!" he screams giving her a start. Watching as confusion flits across her face and just drags her across the hall to the office.

Calleigh allows herself to be grabbed astonished over the fact that he called her sweetheart. It's been years since he's called her that with such strong feeling behind it. He only calls her that when she's hurt, or in trouble. Yet he's never called her that with such passion behind it, it has her worried. "What's wrong Horatio is everything alright?" "No" came the short reply "right now everything is not fine" is the only response she gets from him, no other words were exchanged between the two of them.

"I stopped by your house after I left the scene. I had a hunch and I followed it and I'm sorry that I couldn't give you a heads up" Horatio rushed out immediately after this office door closes. "I'm sorry you what?" confusion laced in Calleigh's voice, "why didn't you tell me while you were there, it's been two hours since I've last seen you".

"Listen, just listen, Navarro was at your house within the last twelve hours, I found depressions on the outside of your bedroom window as long as smudges on your window. But it doesn't look like he's been inside." Never has Horatio been so nervous in his entire life.

"So you went snooping around my house, been there for over two hours, and didn't call me at all! I mean you haven't seen my house in God knows how long and you just expect to know if anything was touched! I mean, I know you're looking out for me but you could've called me!" she couldn't keep anger out of her voice. She was shocked that Horatio could just breach her trust.

"I was trying to..." Horatio starts, "Help! Yeah you can help, but at least tell me, how do you even know Navarro is behind this? There is no evidence you can use to back this hunch up, and following this guy for too long will end up being bad. You push and push and push to get your way but it seems like Navarro is way ahead of you, ahead of us!" Calleigh says putting emphasis on the "us".

"And don't you dare tell me to spend the night elsewhere, because if I am being stalked then I sure as hell am going to stand my ground. Nor will I put anyone else in danger." Horatio can only stare at her, she could always tell what he was thinking and for once he wasn't thankful for it. She just doesn't understand, he knew it would be hell, and was glad he did this in person. He should've just told her ahead of time, and curses himself because this was something he didn't expect. She's going into her defensive mode and shutting him out completely. She was right, as usual, the more and more he pushes, the harder the case gets to solve.

The Navarro's are just too quick, clever, and powerful for him to just use his usual guise. His constant involvement and harassment towards the Navarro's have only allowed for O"Shay to constantly breathe down his neck, and for the lab to lose some of its funding. "Just trust me Calleigh" his voice glazed in desperation, yet he refuses to look up, ashamed in how he handled a simple situation.

"I do Horatio, but right now too many things are happening right now, and for me to be riled up about something that can't be explained is the last thing anybody needs. We need to think clearly about how to handle the task at hand instead of jumping around. If Navarro really is behind this then he's already planned what he's going to do next. I just want all of us to stay safe." And with that Calleigh leaves without dismissal, rushing too her lab still enraged over the current situation. Lab techs and other personnel quickly pushed aside, careful not to get in Calleigh's way. Calleigh obviously avoided Eric, not wanting to speak with anyone.

Natalia, Ryan, and Sam all watched from DNA as Calleigh stormed past everyone to the ballistics lab. The deliberate avoidance of Eric did not go unnoticed by them and now confusion was a common feeling amongst them all. "Anybody knows what that was about?" asks Ryan to the group.

"Maybe Eric and Calleigh had a fight?" Sam asks more than she tells. "Or maybe it has everything to do with whatever she and H were talking about after he carted her away to his office twenty minutes ago." Natalia just throws out there. "Why did Horatio cart Calleigh away" asks Eric as he steps into the lab.

"Don't know, actually no one knows, he was pacing in front of the elevator for like ten minutes before she came. Maybe it has something to do with the women found in the glades this morning." Natalia can only offer educated guesses. "The victim does look a lot like Calleigh. But that could just be a coincidence. The "Taunter" does go after women with green eyes." Ryan adds in feeling left out the conversation.

"Eric you're with me" Horatio says, popping out of nowhere, scaring everyone in the room. Eric doesn't even speak; Horatio's face is enough to tell him that this is beyond debate. Whatever's going on with Calleigh has to be serious, because the look Horatio has is the same one he put on during their trip to Rio. Following close behind Horatio, Eric can only guess the amount of trouble Calleigh seems to be in.


	6. Intrusion

6 Just fixing any spacing errors and what not.

"I can only assume that this is about the small disagreement between you and Calleigh" Eric can only guess. If that was the case then Horatio is out of luck. "I believe Navarro is targeting Calleigh, and before you start it's a hunch, there were depressions on the outside of her bedroom windows and there were unusable smudges on the window pane. I can just feel it's Navarro and I want you to keep a closer eye on Calleigh" Horatio rushed to get the last part out, desperate for someone to listen and reason with. "He's watching her and I feel like he's planning something".

"You see if you came to me with this a year ago, there would be no problem, but now we're at a tight spot and this request really is going to be hard to follow through." Never has Eric felt more useless than right now. He knows that if Horatio has a feeling it's usually right and without a question he will believe whatever H says.

"But I will keep a lookout in case anything pops up, Navarro is a very shady person, and the sooner he's found out' the sooner we all can rest easy." Eric adds to keep that look of pure determination stuck on H's face.

"Thank you brother" H adds, eternally grateful for Eric's protective nature of those he loves. Saddened over the fact that Calleigh and he were no longer together, they were the one pure thing in this lab, and like everything else it crashed. He was a year late and it serves to tell him he really hasn't been paying attention to the people in front of him, that he cares more for the criminals than his own family. With a sigh H walks off, leaving Eric to contemplate how he could explain to Calleigh what was going on.

Eric's never known the true meaning of struggle up until he sees Calleigh in her lab, posture showing the defeat he knew he saw earlier. At least she looked like she's had a full night of sleep, needing something optimistic. No amount of happy thoughts can keep him from the feeling of dread knowing that he has to approach Calleigh, especially when she's in this mood. It could wait, that two week pile of paperwork looks intriguing anyway.

Calleigh has no idea how to rationalize Horatio's behavior earlier today. On one hand he was just protecting her, but on the other this wasn't the first time he's gone off without alerting anyone of his antics. He always goes off on his own and leaves her picking up the pieces of his mess. Not only that, but when he gets in a tight spot it's always someone else he calls. In the last several years Calleigh is always put on the back burner up until he needs her.

She's getting fed up with this behavior of his, only using her when it suits his needs. So when he tells her to just trust him, she couldn't help but explode. How can she just jump to believe him when he can't even call her to back him up? Every single time he goes out it calls for questions to be asked. When those questions are asked she has to be the one to answer them. She isn't even called when the situation arrives, and he just expects her to read his mind and answer the questions to the fullest.

It's frustrating to have to do this every single case. It's wearing her thin and there is only so much she can handle. He's like a dog with a bone; he just locks in on one thing. Focusing on only one person, and interpreting the evidence one way. Zeroing and harassing the suspect until he gets his way, or the suspect calls in a complaint. Even if Navarro was guilty, he was amazing at covering his tracks, and it will only be a matter of time before another official complaint will be made.

O'Shay is all over her, hovering over every case and making sure she's doing what she's supposed to. The problem with that is she isn't kept into the loop until after everything goes down, so when O'Shay comes to her during the problem, she can only keep him at arm's length. She tries to warn him continuously but it's like talking to a wall.

One bad side of Horatio is that he can do the physical part but he's rarely ever there for all the recorded parts of the job. Paperwork is hell whenever it comes to explaining his antics. She loves him, she really does, but sometimes he just adds to her growing stress. With everything that is happening, she has no one she can turn to. Eric is out; he lost all of her trust towards her personal life around the time Jesse died.

She doesn't know Walter or Sam or Tom that well. Natalia is someone she can go to with boy trouble but not with her feelings right now, and Horatio just destroyed any chance of her going to him, lost it a long time ago.

She's loyal to Horatio, but he really is wearing her thin, and she is well overdue for a mental breakdown. It's dragging her down with all these secrets that pile on one after the other, and her conscience is screaming at her to just let it all go. The next few days are going to be challenging.

O'Shay watches the entire scene as it unfolds right in front of his face. Caine's right-hand man is starting to get fed up with his antics. He watched as Caine paces in front of the elevator, to him carting away Duquesne, to her storming away and to his private chat with Delko.

This is priceless, and the chuckle that escapes his lips weren't even held back at all. Usually Duquesne is the strongest out of all of them, but it looks like she is failing to keep up with Caine's pushy ways. He sees her face and can tell from where he stands that she's reaching her breaking point. He doesn't have to lift a finger when he tries to break this team apart, they're doing fine by themselves.

Diego Navarro will be pleased to hear of this, since the two of them are working to bring this lab down. The both of them will come out on top and watch as Caine's precious little team lose, kissing the lab goodbye. He'll make sure that all of them except Duquesne, O'Shay feels that she will help him and Navarro bring down this team. She will be his personal project, turning her against the team, using her and keeping her to send a message. This was going to be fun.

Esteban watches as Horatio rushes off to the hummer, realizing that he has to be more careful if he wants to bring his Calleigh home. He wants her to be able to come home with him, so he decides to cool off a bit, and wait ten minutes before heading inside. Walking as nonchalantly as possible he makes his way to Calleigh's house, grateful for picking up lock picking as a child, his kit weighing heavily on his shoulder as he walks into the house, as if reminding him of its purpose.

Being a doctor really has its perks, and one of those perks is a supply of drugs and other paraphernalia. Though it is illegal, he was able to get his hands on a shit load of GHB, which he then applies to food and drinks in her fridge. This will ensure that she stays asleep, for when he will start coming over for sleepovers.

Continuing off into her bedroom, he stops and takes a deep breath through his nose, inhaling her scent. It arouses him and he aches to just have her in his arms. Falling into her bed he buries his face into her pillow, scent still fresh from the night before. Turning on his back he starts his fantasy of the two of them enjoying a simple night together.

_She's on top of him, straddling his lap, grinding herself on him. She leans over to kiss him, hair shrouding the both of them, vanilla and lavender drifting over and assaulting his senses, lips locking and tongues dueling with of another, moans coming from the both of them as things start to heat up. Hands grab all pull, tugging and groping, lips suckling and licking, teeth biting and marking. There is nothing but sweaty bodies interlocking with each other as he enters her welcoming body._

Navarro's hand wanders into his pants, stroking himself in rhythm to his fantasy, losing himself one again in its powerful grip.

_She's tight and hot, she feels better than heaven, dripping because of what he's doing to her. She impales herself on him again, and again, and again, moaning and whimpering every time they meet hip to hip. His name becomes a mantra on those bee stung lips and with one thrust from the both of them, she's crying out in euphoria, tightening and clenching around him, he's able to hold out until she moans his name, and he's right behind her._

He finishes with grunts, and sighs of pleasure, rolling over as his body convulses with the power of his orgasm, her scent makes it to his brain and he's lost again, his pleasure prolonged. Taking deep breaths, he struggles to get out of the bed and make it back home. If her scent can make him feel that amazing, he couldn't wait until she was home with him in their bed. He ends up spending two hours in her house and rushes to get back out, careful to put everything back into its rightful place.

He makes sure to grab a shirt from her drawer, wanting to add another thing to his collection, and also to help him out with another great fantasy. Driving back home, he's lost in the thoughts of loving her, and her loving him back. She'll be treated as the queen that she is and he gets to spoil her all he wants.


	7. Plans are Forming

So I'm finally going back to fix the older chapters since I have so much free time now and no rushing is neccessary. Spacing, tensing, and fixing any other thing mentioned. Thanks for all the reviews and hopefully the story is more enjoyable now that the paragraphs arent synthesis essays.

Today is not her day, no way in hell it was, no way at all. This "Taunter" case is dragging far longer than any other serial killer case they've had, especially with a suspect who is identified. Sure it could be someone other than Navarro, but he has that feeling, and even if it was him there is no evidence to link him to the crimes. This literally is her first case where there is no evidence what so ever, one where the supposed suspect is caught.

If a certain person would quit with the constant prodding, and badgering, the case could've continued onto something promising. For now, the case is dragging and it's not showing any promises to a lighter work load. Her frustration is starting to show, and after packing away the evidence she rests her head on the table, sighing and letting out some frustration. She thought that everyone on the dayshift left, or so she thought.

"Making some overdue overtime Ms. Duquesne?" O'Shay implores, starting his cozying up to her. He's learned of Esteban's obsession with the ballistic expert, and is supportive of his obsession. She would be a lovely present for Esteban, and Diego would gladly give him a boost up in the police Captain's eyes. O'Shay could do with the extra ego boost by a man so high in class like Diego Navarro.

"Yeah the killer really knows how to hide his evidence" Calleigh answers, obviously suspicious of his sudden kindness towards her. "Well it seems like you need some time off, why don't you put in for a week or two off?" trying to loosen her up a bit, but she just eyes him like a suspect.

"What's with the random act of kindness O'Shay, what do you want from me?" her questioning earns her a chuckle. "This is more like me repenting, you know, making up for all the bad things I've done. I decided to start with you, since I'm taking baby steps. So I just want to say sorry and that I'm an asshole" his attempt at an apology went well in his ears.

Apparently he got her at the right time, tired, and frustrated, at the end of her days, because she immediately relaxed. "Well I accept the apology, I just don't accept you coming here for just this reason, good night and I hope that this repenting of yours works out for the best" O'Shay can tell she was honest and returns her good night with a sly smile.

"Oh and maybe you should talk to the Captain, your name has been coming up a lot, he says you're due for a promotion, but you didn't hear that from me." And with that O'Shay leaves Calleigh, knowing her head is spinning deciding if the truth was spoken. Which it was, she was next for a promotion, and the Captain has mentioned her one too many times he could kill himself. It was more reason to give her to Esteban, he concluded, for the sake of his life.

Reaching home, trying to keep O'Shay out of her mind, Calleigh failed to even think of anything but what O'Shay said. Was he lying, she couldn't tell, he always had this air of mystery surrounding him. Maybe after all this time it was guilt, and what he was guilty of she could never guess, and she was too tired to guess.

He should be taken as an enemy but it's been years since he's even dared to come to the lab in person, so maybe he really is trying to confess whatever he's done. Actually up until the "Taunter" case popped up, O'Shay has been nonexistent, choosing to remain behind the scenes instead of face to face. It gave her reading of him a completely different view, he's never apologized for anything, and for him to do that shows that he's probably telling the truth.

But then again he could be plotting something and she could be overlooking this aspect of his persona. With her fighting sleep she makes food and heads to bed after a quick shower. The steam from that must've gotten to her because she's bine tired now and her body is sluggish. Diving underneath the blankets on her bed, her body calls it quits and she is knocked out within a second.

Watching every single move she's made since she stepped out of her car. Down from each perfect stride each perfect chew, to her ungraceful collapse onto the bed. Testing his patience, a full 15 minutes past before Esteban climbs into bed with her. This was exciting, tonight was the first time that they'll be spending the night together.

Slipping underneath the sheets and relaxing against her body, Esteban feels almost like he's at home. Almost was the operative word. The only thing that would make this perfect would be if this really was their home, snuggled into bed, and her not drugged. Her scent made its way over to him, putting him in a calm mood. Her hair was silky, and his hand easily ran through it, it was the source of the vanilla and her skin the lavender.

Her skin was way softer than he could ever imagine, it was like he was caressing a cloud. She's radiating heat, and a smile grew on his face, she was snuggling into him. He was on cloud nine, he knew that she could sense him, and this just proved that she loved him as much as he loved her. It's been a long three days since he first seen her, but he feels like she really is the one for him. It could be a very stupid move, but the usual bad things happen within two days, and he promises that they won't have a Romeo and Juliet romance.

This will last their entire lifetime, and they are going to die old, and together. Love is a trying thing, and the trying parts are coming up in the next couple of months. Figuring that he has only a few hours with her he snuggles into her, stroking her cheek, and planting three consecutive kisses on her beautiful lips. Loving the way she licks her lips, copying her he licks his, loving her taste. Life's perfect at the moment and nothing can ruin this night of theirs.

While she's knocked out, Calleigh feels herself floating. It was weird, she was asleep, but she can still feel what was going on around her. She feels the bed dip as a weight was pressed against her. She felt no threat and decided to just let whoever comes into bed with her. A hand floats through her hair, and a hand sliding up and down her back. She feels calm and snuggles into whoever it was snuggling into her.

She feels a hand on her cheek, and kisses on her lips, which she licks to get a taste of whoever it was. Her mind trudging to try and identify who it was, her mind jumped to Eric, the bastard. With a sigh she snuggles deeper and goes back to sleep. Completely content and felt at more at peace than she has ever felt before.


	8. Moonlighting

Calleigh, Eric, and Horatio head out the next morning to a call out with Horatio and Eric in the front, and her in the back. Even with this early callout (5am to be exact), she felt extremely well rested. Last night, she knew she crashed, but damn that crash was more promising than any other.

She could feel the boys looking at her, their gaze full of concern and worry. Jokes on them, she absolutely, positively felt great. Nothing was going to bring her down today, not even this case. Speaking of the case, another girl was kidnapped early this morning. Just like that, Calleigh jumps into the case at hands, listening in on what Eric and Horatio was saying.

This girl was out with her friends, of a certain profession, and a man pulled up asking if they would like to make extra. Of course they agreed and he was able to snatch one of them. If this was the "Taunter" then he messed up real bad. Never before did they have witnesses that caught his face. This is a sign, thought Calleigh, of amazing things to come.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Eric begins to question…why? His face felt like he's been hit in the face with one of the hummers. Damn life was just shitty sometimes, fuck it, it was shitty ever since he and Cal broke up. Looking back at her he wonders how she can look so happy and content. If her behavior yesterday was odd, then today was nothing short of eccentric.

It's literally been seven years since she's been in this mood outside of their relationship. Speed once described her as "way too cheerful", and he finally gets to see this side of her. It pained him to know that he wasn't the reason behind that bright face of hers. It's been too long since he's ever been a part of her life, and he'll make sure that they don't fall apart.

He's seen his fair share of couples breaking up and completely ignoring each other to the point that it's awkward. Never, never, ever will they end up like that. So right now, it's killing him to know what, _or who_, could've given her a reason to be so over the rainbow cheerful. The pang of jealousy that flits through him was strong enough to kill the next person to even tick him off.

No one wants to mess with a tired Eric Delko, let alone an infuriated one. He's going to make sure that whoever gave her that mood would end up being him at the end.

Caine parked and without a word walked toward the group of girls that witnessed their friends kidnapping. There were four of them, each on the shorter stature, three were of Hispanic descent with only one of them sporting dark brown hair, and the last one was a strawberry blonde. "Morning ladies, may I ask how you came across this situation?"

And like that they explode into indecipherable gibberish.

"Please one at a time, one at a time." Calleigh can't help but compare them to the team, they stick together, and their loyalty shows. "Well we were all just chilling and this guy just pulls up" starts the strawberry blonde

"Then he offers to give us extra for all of us together, sorta like we're some game bundle at Best Buy" continues the shortest of the girls, hair curly to the end of the week.

"When we all go up he flips and grabs at us" says the girl with blonde highlights.

"We were able to get away but Vanilla couldn't and she was taken" says the dark brown haired girl.

"Did you get a good look at whomever it was that tried to solicit the five of you?" Eric asks.

"It happened so fast, dude was a straight ninja" says the dark haired one.

"I'm sorry we didn't catch your names" Calleigh adds "The strawberry blonde is Mocha Senpai, the curly haired one is Velvet Sheath, the other blonde one is Chizz, and I'm Cat. With a C not a K like some tend to believe, I have standards."

"What's with the stripper names?" Calleigh asks bold and feeling in the mood. "Oh we moonlight as strippers, gotta bring the cash home as quick as possible, and we get to meet really cool people." answers Cat.

With a chuckle Horatio bid them goodbye, promising to check up on them later. "Remember, C-A-T not K-A-T, my standards, apply my standards!"

"Those girls have very interesting names, don't you agree?" jokes Eric as they climb into the hummer.

"They do moonlight as strippers" Calleigh laughs, not able to keep the laugh in at all. The irony wasn't lost to her at all, causing her to giggle even more. It's been a while since Eric's heard that sound. He finds himself missing it, missing her; it's been too long.

They can hang out still, just with no romantic ties. They can do that, in fact she doesn't have a choice, tonight is their night. He'll spend the night tonight, she definitely won't mind. It blows his mind that Navarro is after her, and tonight will be a perfect way for him to keep tabs on her. Him spending night will help clear up some questions he's had since yesterday. Maybe they can talk about an "us" happening again. This is a great way to multi task he adds with a smile.

Horatio smiled at the playful banter between Eric and Calleigh, she's been in a great mood the whole morning and it seems that this dead end they've hit didn't hinder her mood whatsoever. He's never seen her in this mood before, at least not this close to her. It was infectious and he had to admit, he was starting to catch on to her bubbliness.

The only guess he could make was that she had an amazing night of sleep and is immediately jealous. His night was full of nothing but concern and worry. Navarro couldn't possibly be infatuated with Calleigh, not with the short amount of time he's spent in her presence.

Though Horatio can admit that when he first met Calleigh, she struck him with interest. She was so sure and yet wary of herself. She was able to show off her confidence without being cocky, and proved herself right onto the first choice to put on his team, even before Jesse(if he wasn't leaving at the time).

But he spent the majority of the day with her; Navarro on the other hand, spent less than two hours in interrogation. Her green eyes probably sent him into the obsession, but Horatio wasn't sure what she could've done to pull Navarro in.

Whatever she did triggered something in Navarro and now he seems to be escalating. .Now he has to deal with yet another problem on the team and he wasn't looking forward to dealing with this. Just as that was thought, it hit him, he thought of the situation Calleigh couldn't have gotten herself into as a problem. Caleigh could never be a problem, and yet here he was blaming her for the stress about to be dumped on him.

Choosing to push back this thought, he hops in the hummer with the other two and heads back to the lab, hoping her bubbliness lasts all day infecting everyone in the building, hoping that she can lift everyone's spirits and give them an extra push that they all need.

_Navarro can't believe he's messed up something as simple as getting another toy. Seeing the whole group of girls sparked something and he couldn't just ignore that feeling. Not after almost losing it, with Leigh while she slept._

_He almost spoiled the surprise of getting to touch what he's only seen from afar. He itched to touch and instead he chose to get a new toy. These girls were perfect; even if he only got one he'll be fine. Turns out the one he ended to snatch was, her eyes two or three shades off of his Leigh's, chestnut blonde hair braided down the side, she would do._

_If he got the others it would lighten his mood, but alas, beggars can't be choosers, and he loves his new toy. She was a novelty, and she'll stay a novelty until Leigh is home with him. And if Leigh wasn't home for months, then his new toy won't be thrown out until then. _


	9. Sleepover

Despite this case meeting a complete dead end, Calleigh feels great, whatever happened last night was for the best. She cannot remember the last time she's had such a beautiful night of sleep, maybe with Eric but she couldn't tell. Whatever she did differently she has to do again because though she woke up to some grog she still felt amazing.

Maybe Eric came last night, he did that a lot when they were on, and off, and on again. She didn't even need to open her eyes to know it was him, she just knew. Maybe she should talk to him; he's the only one who was able to make her feel so warm and loved at night, and relaxed in the morning. Once again this wasn't the first time he did something like this.

But if Eric came over, why didn't he stay the whole night, and with that one thought she decides against even talking to him. She's not the one to start any type of drama and she's too stressed, despite her great feeling and amazing night. Her exasperated sigh vibrates throughout the ballistics lab, and Calleigh is grateful for being in her lonesome. "This is all going to get to me soon" she says out loud.

"Well you should take a vacation, no cases are opened, and the Taunter case is at a dead end, take this chance to get away for a while." Calleigh turns at the sound of the voice. O'Shay is standing by the door of her lab, concern evident on his face, just the way he wants his face to look; he's been watching her for 20 minutes and can tell that all she needs is some compassion.

"I would love to, but I don't think the captain would appreciate me taking off after a stalling of a rough case" Calleigh retorts.

"He would understand, he's very understanding actually. And besides, out of everyone you deserve it more. You even have more overtime than the good Lieutenant himself" O'Shay adds seeing that what he's saying is really getting to Calleigh, and when she huffs he can hear every word she says

"That's because I do Horatio's paperwork for him all the time" she huffs, aggravation starting to boil both at Horatio again and O'Shay.

" And you can get all that stress out, and say goodbye to paperwork for a while, we even have enough money to pay you for two and a half weeks" Calleigh chuckles at the incentive O'Shay gave her, and he chuckles along with her. "Besides you've been working for far too long and too hard, it's going to catch up to you." O'Shay walks off, giving Calleigh more time to think.

Calleigh watched him leave her lab; she shouldn't be taking what he says to heart. He was the enemy yet she's agreeing with him she's been thinking about taking a vacation long before the "Taunter" case has been opened, and although what O'Shay said was true, she can't let what he says get to her head.

The "Taunter" case has been opened for three weeks now and a good night's sleep has been evasive with the exception of last night. While a vacation is overdue, taking one right now would be a sign of weakness, and showing weakness was not her thing. After this case was over she plans on taking O'Shay up on his promise, but for now she's staying put.

Horatio paced his office, burning a line in his carpet, O'Shay was watching Calleigh and when Calleigh relaxes, O'Shay jumps up and attacks Calleigh. By their body posture he can tell that they are having a civilized conversation. This surprised him completely. Usually whenever O'Shay comes around Calleigh has been on guard and has been very loyal to him. Horatio wonders when Calleigh started getting comfortable with O'Shay and relaxed around him.

Calleigh looked like she was in her mind about whatever O'Shay told her. Horatio felt as if the world was falling from underneath him, like he had no control over anything. He couldn't even hold the lab on his own without Calleigh. Whenever she walked through the lab, the techs all looked at her with admiration and respect whereas with him, all that was there was respect, and that was for his position in the lab. If there was something wrong, everyone went to Calleigh instead of him.

If it was trouble with the law, then they went to him, but any personal problems were handled through Calleigh instead of him. He's been too withdrawn from the lab and the people inside of it. Well, from today, Horatio will become more involved in what goes on inside the lab. Because if O'Shay is getting close to Calleigh, then he can get closer to anyone else, especially since O'Shay's tactic seems to be working.

Times are trying and the feeling he's had since the beginning of the week just grew into concerning anticipation, and discomfort. It was killing him inside even more, not knowing what was going to happen until it boils over. Horatio is going to jump to the initiative, and going over to Calleigh's tonight, tonight was going to be interesting.

Hours later and nowhere near close to finishing her and Horatio's paperwork, Calleigh leaves, deciding home sounds like heaven. Crash time is going to be amazing and getting to bed and snuggling in with _Wuthering Heights_. The shower called her name and she answered, the hot water was amazing on her skin, her hair washed in her signature scent gave her relief. She puts on a white version of her favorite green nightgown, which she still can't find, was adorned on her body.

Tonight is a salad night, so she makes a chicken sandwich. A meow and a ball of fluff scared the shit out of her, Kevin her kitten was completely forgotten for the last two days. She remembers giving him food but cuddles and snuggles have been lost to the both of them, and Kevin misses her. She sits on her favorite chair with her book, food and Kevin following right behind her.

When snuggling into her lap Kevin looks up at Calleigh and then her sandwich, she knows he can smell the cheese, as often a lot of pets tend to love cheese. She gives in and every so often she gives him both chicken and cheese, feeling bad about deserting him for the past two days.

After about thirty minutes, Kevin begins to act clumsy, repeatedly failing at jumping from her lap to the arm of her chair. Cats are funny and she can't help but record his failed attempt at his jumping. Eric would be the one to find her an insane kitten, not that she was on the sane side either.

When Kevin gives up and knocks out on her lap Calleigh gets back to her book determining to finish this chapter. Not even twelve chapters and an hour later Calleigh feels her eyes start to droop, before she too knocks out.

Eric and Horatio reach Calleigh's place at the same time and they chuckle at the same amount of concern they both have for the ballistics expert, though Eric has more of a romantic and deeper connection with Calleigh than Horatio. "Keeping watch on her as well H" quirks Eric.

"Thought it was now or never" Horatio answered, and Eric could feel as well as see the concern H had. Upon the both of them entering her house the silence sent alarm bells off. It was barely nine pm, and anyone who know Calleigh, knows she's usually up either reading or cleaning her guns. No clinks can be heard and the house was filled with eerie silence.

Horatio and Eric enter her foyer with their hands on their hips, ready to draw if needed, "Cal" "Sweetheart" they call at the same time, both laughing at the sight they came across as they enter her living room. Calleigh was knocked out, it was the only way Eric could describe her, legs curled under her, hair shrouding her face, lips parted, and Kevin snuggled into her lap.

Both of them couldn't help but laugh at how cute she looked, and Horatio snapped a picture, just for research purposes. "At least she's safe" chides Eric chuckling; Horatio can't help but agree at this and picks up the book that fell from her hands. Eric grabs the book and looks down into it, loving that she actually kept the book he bought her. Horatio picks her up, surprised at how light she is despite her size.

Her in his arms made her seem like she was smaller than she really was. She was lighter than he could've ever imagined, making her seem almost like a child, adding to her innocence. She was so relaxed and Horatio couldn't bring himself to waking her up, he carried her to her bed himself and buried her underneath the mountains of pillows and sheets. Eric walks in and pats Horatio on the back "has she always been this small?" Horatio asks, not believing so.

"Yeah she actually is, surprised me as well if I were to be honest." Eric is surprised at the amount of tenderness that Horatio displays.

"She just looks so small; I've never seen her look this tiny. She has this way of making herself seem as if she's ten feet taller than I am." Horatio says, brushing her hair back.

"I really hope Navarro isn't fixated on her, she can't end up like…" and with that Horatio looked away before tears would begin to fall.

"You know she's not going to end up like, Mari H?" Eric says, trying to keep himself in check as well.

"it's why I've backed off from everyone lately, whenever I show affection or love to someone, they get killed, I'm cursed and I want to keep it with me." Horatio says quietly.

"I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to her as well" with that statement Horatio looked Eric in the eyes, conveying all that he was feeling at the moment and for the last six years.

"H, it'll be alright, we'll protect her, and I'm staying the night so she won't be alone, unless you want to take watch tonight?" Eric asks not wanting to push him over the edge.

"We'll say together brother, just as long as I'm here tonight." Horatio answers

"No prob bro, no problem at all" and with that the both of them head off to get ready for their sleepover tonight. Eric has never seen Horatio so open and raw with anyone before. He was more open to him than Calleigh ever was, he was just glad that tonight Calleigh will be watched over.


	10. Anger Management

This chapter is going to be a very dark, just a warning (mentions of physical and sexual assault!)

Navarro growled at the scene that was laid out before him, the lieutenant and his handyman are too close to his Leigh. His irritation grows and seeing her in the watch of those two scared him, if could he could get this close to her while they're watching her, then someone worse could get to her. The stress has been growing since yesterday, he almost accidentally killed that prostitute he sworn to keep until Leigh was home. Seeing her surrounded by those men added to his aggravation, and he leaves before he rushes into something stupid.

Walking around the neighborhood he comes across a wonderful sight, maybe half a mile away from Leigh's house, a woman was walking towards him. She looked upset and he can hear her crying from where he stood. Letting her pass him he surveys the surroundings, heavy brush in this area of the park. Well it looks like the odds are in his favor today. He sneaks up behind careful not to breathe heavy due to his anger and anticipation. She puts up little fight due to shock and he quickly drags her behind a bushel of shrubs, her lack of fight gets him angrier.

His Leigh would fight off an enemy more than this sad excuse for a woman. He throws her down to get a look at her face; she lived down the block from his Leigh, with a man that would use her as a punching bag. It was kind of fitting for her to go with him instead of her man. He laughs at her situation and he feels her tense. She's pleading and crying and begging for him to let her go, "I won't tell I promise" she cries. "Oh I know you won't tell trust me I know" he adds punches to her abdomen over and over for five minutes.

"It's not fair, it's not fair, and she's mine why do they try to keep her away from me." Each word was added with a punch to wherever his fist landed "they're always in my way!" he adds kicks to the beating, hoping whoever this was feel the pain he was going through. She took it like the victim she was deciding to curl into a ball to help protect herself. Her whimpers bring him pleasure and he lays down a harder beating to her already broken body. He rips off her pants and underwear and applies a condom to himself before roughly taking her.

His chuckles are cold and humorless, and when she starts to get vocal, he wraps a hand coolly around her throat. He can see the pain that she's currently going through and he does nothing but thrust harder. Getting lost in his head, he imagined him and Leigh making love with one another, her moaning in nothing but absolute pleasure. "You feels so good Leigh, just like heaven, I'm not going to last much longer" and with that he pushes harder and squeezes the hand around her neck harder until he rides out the pleasure.

The woman doesn't know what to think, how to react, or who Leigh was. All she knew was that when you didn't fight back, it was over quicker and less painful. When he finishes she tries to push him off and it results with yet another punch to her face. Her throat was getting tighter, and it was getting harder to breathe. Her chest felt heavy, her arm was throbbing and her ribs felt as if they were on the outside of her body. Blood was quickly filling her mouth and she had to spit in order to take a strangled breath. Making the decision to face her attacker she opens her eyes and when her hazel meets his brown, he explodes. "You'll never be as good as her, you disgust me, not one fight you put up. You just let me take you like the whore you were. Leigh would never go down with a fight, and she certainly wouldn't let someone take advantage of you like that."

He was angry, and she couldn't think of anything she's done to make him angry. Maybe one of her boyfriend's friends didn't appreciate her walking out on them twenty minutes ago. She decided to walk home, taking a shortcut through Highland Park to avoid people like this man. "They can't keep her away from me for any longer, she will be mine and nothing will stop me from getting to her" he says.

She looks him dead on again and this time light shines and she sees him, he was the devil. There was nothing she could've said to describe him. "Your eyes…are disgraceful." And if she thought that he going on a rant was him losing it, she was wrong. He pulled out a knife and stabs her in the stomach.

The pain was intense and she cries out, causing him to panic and stab her over and over and over. She loses the fight in her and just lays there taking the assault hoping he would finish fast. He gets mad at her for giving up and voices so, and as a punishment he stabs her in her womanhood, that caused her to scream. His hand cut out the scream and tightens around her throat again.

"Your life is meaningless, you don't deserve the happiness you have you filthy whore." The words stung, even though she's heard this a million times before and finally accepted that it was true. He stabbed again and again, switching up the routine with punches and slaps and an explicit or two. Her body was getting heavier and can feel his eyes raking over what he's done to her, his smile shining through her hazy gaze.

He stabs and punches and claws at her, and when she hears him chuckle she gives up, her body welcomes the impending darkness with the weight of him stabbing and violating her still present, she says goodbye to everyone in her life and tells her boyfriend she forgives him. She greets the darkness and just like that she feels…nothing.

Navarro keeps this assault up for another half hour before he feels the anger leave his body. Looking down at the body he senses nothing but relaxation. Now would be a good time to get rid of any incriminating evidence he built up for the past hour and a half. Picking up the condom, messing with her blood to mess up the splatter, he checks his hands for any open wounds and was glad to find only a scratch. He slices off her finger tips to assure the lack of DNA that could've been there from the scratch and he takes off, boots in hand as to not create a blood trial. Reaching home he immediately throws his clothes as well as hers and her fingertips into a fire and takes a long, hot shower. He falls asleep with Leigh's nightgown clutched close to his face and a smile playing on his face.

It was 6:02 am and the chirping of his cellphone woke him up with a start. Horatio shook his head to get that heavy feeling to go away, mad at the intrusive device for waking him up so early. Last time he checked Eric was right beside him on the bed in the spare room, but now he was nowhere to be found. Well time to wake both Eric and Calleigh up. A crime scene not even half a mile away from here has been called. This raised some flags in Horatio's head and the sooner they get to the scene the faster he can relax and return to the beautiful sleep he's just encountered.

Heading to Calleigh's room and three sets of knocks later he found himself opening the door, face softening at the scene before him. Eric and Calleigh were locked in a subconscious embrace with Eric dominating over Calleigh." Wake up guys" he says softly trying not to break the mood even more so. Finding them not even moving a muscle, he shakes Eric, who still doesn't budge.

Instead he calls Calleigh's cellphone and she immediately starts to respond to the intrusive device, her moving starting to wake up Eric and he stretches and wakes up immediately. "What's up H, is anything wrong?" the question was open ended and Horatio wasn't lost to it. "A DB half a mile from here and we need to get going" H starts.

"A DB half a mile from HERE?" interjects Calleigh. "Yeah and apparently its bad so shield yourself" "why are you guys here?" Calleigh asks curiosity and more than the normal annoyance playing through Calleigh's voice.

"H and I got a little shitfaced and decided to crash here instead of driving thirty minute to H's house" Eric offers, knowing that she would accept this more than any other excuse he and H could've given. "Oh okay, that's good, and I assume you came up with this Horatio" she teases. "Of course it was. I'm the more sensible brother." He quips.

"Where to?"

"Not even 500 feet away from here" answers back Horatio before either could ask a full question. "So let's get ready chop, chop". The trio breaks apart and starts to get ready, when he and Eric were outside waiting for Calleigh, Horatio speaks up.

"This could not be a coincidence at all"

"I agree, and the weirdest thing happened last night, when I went…" and Eric breaks off seeing Calleigh walk through her door. "At least we can finally say we beat Ryan to a crime scene" Calleigh jokes. They jump in the hummer and head off for the short drive. Five minutes later they come across the scene. Only one word could describe the scene, and it was hectic. The patrol officers had the same look of pure agony and despair. The novices and the more experienced officers were a sick shade of green. "This is going to be bad" Horatio can tell from now. The crime scene tape was pushed back from its usual place of three yards to an additional six. The three of them duck under the tape and what meets their eyes was worse than what either of them have seen in their entire career, "Oh my God" chorused Eric and Calleigh.

(AN: I'm just going to end it there, sorry for the cliffhanger. It was too dark for me to fit all of it in one chapter. Blame Kat and the dark tones)


	11. No Evidence

New chapter just like I promised! *shakes head because she knows she's lying*

Calleigh wanted to cry at how horrible the scene was. She thought the family slaughtered by their own father almost a decade ago was a bloody mess, this scene's got it beat by a longshot. The soil was saturated with blood, the bushes and trees were heavily coated in red. She has never come across such a violent scene in her entire life and her tears threatened to fall once she laid her eyes in the body, if you could even say that word could fit the scene, more like remains. Her lower half was completely macerated, legs opened up, skin hanging off, and bones visible. She's been violated more in more ways than one; her lower abdomen has been completely opened. Intestines were laid out in the grass, and her uterus was chopped to fuck and barely recognizable if it weren't for the ovaries and fallopian tubes attached to it. Her stomach was lying on her ribs, which were lying on her torso. Her heart was gone and its location was currently unknown. Her face was caved in and there was a lake of blood has collected in her skull.

Her hair was matted with blood dirt and by the way her body was positioned she died in a lot of pain. Calleigh heart goes out to whoever it was that had to go through god knows how long. It was no wonder the officers were close to throwing up, it was a bloodbath nothing but a complete bloodbath. This woman couldn't have been more than an inch or two taller than she was. Was it even possible for someone that small to bleed that much? If Horatio thought "The Miami Taunter" was bad, he just met something worse.

Never before has Horatio ever frozen, especially at a scene, the brutality of the attack was obvious, this person was angry, pissed off even. His anger was taken out on this poor unsuspecting woman, a fate he wouldn't even wish on his worst enemy. There was no way this woman could've fought back, no matter how aware or strong she could've been. This was a rampage and for so little evidence from the path to the back of the bushes to happen, she would have to be subdued and carried. The only thought that was able to calm him down was the fact that Calleigh was alright. She lived not even 500 feet away from the scene and this small blessing calmed him down, still they had to find the bastard that hurt this poor girl. "It's going to be a safe bet that she was sexually assaulted although we won't be able to tell." Tom says kneeling down beside the remains. "I would take liver temp, but it's been exposed to the elements for God knows how long. But the body is fresh maybe last night." "How can someone be so angry to just on my God" repeats Eric.

And just like that Eric's day was ruined. Last night was pretty chill in his eyes; H and him caught up with each other over sweet tea and some sandwiches, but after H went to sleep Eric decided to go check on Calleigh. He found it very odd that she was asleep earlier than usual. For the 15 months that they've been dating, never once has she fallen asleep so early. Maybe if she ran triples and doubles for a while she would sleep early, but never before ten.

_ Cal, Cal wakes up. Not even one movement, her breathing was deep and even so she was alive, Cal baby wake up! He decided to look into this further and when he stands up a wave of dizziness hits him. Choosing to lie down and let the feeling past he wakes up to the chirping of a cell phone._

Eric vaguely remembers anything that happened between lying down and the morning after. He remembers him cuddling into Calleigh, but she didn't cuddle back, and she was the cuddliest person you'd ever meet. The whole crew was here collecting evidence and all of them couldn't find anything incriminating to pin on anyone. Eric chose to just ignore the remains all together, knowing that if he looked he would cry at the pain the woman must've felt at the time of her death. There was no evidence and cause of death would take a very long time to determine at the state of the remains.

"Eric, Calleigh. You guys are with me" barks Horatio, now was the perfect time for Horatio to check in on Calleigh since he fell asleep and didn't wake up until they had to leave. As the doors in the hummer closed Horatio jumped straight into business "Calleigh has anything been out of place in your house recently?" "Other than my favorite nightgown no, but I think it's in the wash, though I swear washed it last week." She answers back confidence and confusion laced together. "Are you sure because you don't sound very sure at all" condescends Eric "Obviously not because I second guessed myself, why are you asking me this?" "Did you not see the scene back there; I mean your house literally is a two minute walk away!" Eric snaps "Well it was a heavily brushed area, and I've never been good at detailing so no I haven't seen the scene at all" she sassed. "No attitude sweetheart, we're trying to help you" Horatio was getting mad at the fact that Calleigh is being very defensive and for once will not give him a straight answer. "Well when you guys give me a half ass excuse as to why you and Horatio slept over last night it's pretty hard for me to just keep a calm front and now the both of you are jumping me" "It's for your own good…" "For you guys to keep two sets of 'watchful' eyes on me, I don't think so" Calleigh interjects further ratcheting Horatio's aggravation. "Navarro…" "Might not even be connected to this right now Horatio, no proof that his hands have even been connected to anything on the scene." "I think you should find it weird that this happens after the last few days." "Murder happens Horatio don't pick the location and you don't either, Horatio." "Trust us sweetheart, trust me." And I should just believe this why?" "Because it's obvious isn't it, Navarro probably saw Eric and I over at your house and he could've lost control and kill this girl." "Yet no proof of either of these things have been discovered, this is an odd sense of déjà vu isn't it."

Eric can't stand the way Horatio was taking this from Calleigh. If Eric talked to Horatio that way, he would've been in deep shit. Her tone of voice was accusing and cold. Eric tries to get Calleigh to understand but she just interrupts him. "No, Eric don't speak, no evidence, a gut feeling, and you backing up Horatio isn't going to get you a warrant, I appreciate what you guys are doing but right now all this speculation is starting to drive me crazy!" Eric could see that Calleigh was beyond stressed; her voice reached a peak where you can tell she's holding back. "Cal, we're just trying to look out for you, you were out cold before nine o'clock last night and were like lead" "so what, you think I'm being drugged, well nothing's out of place and my food was just the same as I left it, in fact I don't even have food after you guys ate last night, so it's not like I can get drugged tonight" sarcasm was laced in her voice, though they did eat her out her house, and her eyes turned angry. "I've known you for over a decade and no matter how long or hard you've worked, sweetheart never have you been out for before nine." Horatio declaration seems to have pissed her off. "And how would you be certain of that Horatio, it's not like you've ever checked up on me for the past six years. Did Eric tell you this because that is the only explanation as to why you would know that?" They reach the lab and getting out of the car Eric just looks at the other two. Calleigh was blank but her anger was apparent to whoever knew her well enough.

"You've had tough times, but trust me so have I, you go around put your life in danger and so have I. You call everyone to help but me and I'm never informed until one of you comes back, and when your actions get called into question I have to answer to O'Shay. Back then I had to deal with both Stetler and O'Shay badgering me over and over periodically. I can't give them a straight answer because I don't have any clue on what it is that's going on. I've been kicked out of the loop and it shows, all I am to you now is your personal secretary. Doing both my paperwork as well as yours, I'm here at all hours of the day, sometimes two hours before my shift starts, and four after my shift is over. For the past year I would spend five days in the lab without going home. You can go off and help everyone that doesn't cry for help, but when I need help you're never there for me. Yea every once in a while you pull through but those moments are so far in between that I doubt they even happen. For years I've hoped that you would get better, hope that you can finally stop hiding behind those shades, I've been with you for the last 12 years, since the beginning and all you do is put me on the back burner. I'm the safety net that you can just rely on to catch you, but whose mine? So excuse me if I don't trust you with my personal life. You haven't been there enough for me to trust you, and I don't want you in it either, I need someone solid and obviously neither you nor Eric are solid enough for me."

"Sweetheart" "No, don't sweetheart me, you've lost all the right to call me that." "Calleigh, I'm sorry if you've felt that way due to my insolence." "It's too late for apologizes but I'll accept it. Just for the record, if you guys sleep over my house again for something like this, the next murder will be you guys." The elevator drops them off to the lab floor and Calleigh is the first to leave. Grabbing her hand Horatio looks at her straight in the eyes. "I just want you to trust me, trust us or just Eric at least." "I can't, I just can't, not until you've got more proof." "Sweetheart please." "NO! I'm done with this, it's over, how just drop it." And with that Calleigh heads to layout, leaving a trail of once again scared lab techs, too stunned to do anything but part as she plows through.


	12. Tense Day

Updated most of the chapters because I didn't space out my paragraphs, I found t hard to read myself. Sorry for the eye strain

Sorry for the lack of updates, life can hit you in the face sometimes. Though it was mostly Netflix binge that stopped me (looks away guiltily).

To say that the lab was tense would be an understatement. Eric sees everyone part in an effort to avoid Calleigh and then look between him and Horatio. Eric was in shock, this was the first time that Calleigh's ever raised her voice at Horatio for as long as he's known her. "H we need to talk" he looks over Horatio was blank, no emotion on his face "After this case brother" and he walks off "After this case". Eric watched as Horatio walked calmly into his office, slamming his office door shut, cracking the glass in the door in the process. Eric just walks off heading towards layout, ignoring the accusing glares and stares, the gossip-rich whispers, and shy pitiful glances of the lab techs. His heart skips when everyone on the team is centered in one room. Walter, Natalia, Wolfe, and Sam were each at one side of the table with Calleigh occupying her own side. Boy this is going to be very awkward. They all look up as he walks in, with the exception of Calleigh, and give him a very questioning look. "So what's up with the evidence, is there anything we have to id her yet?" he asks trying to break the awkward tension filling the room. "She had a cell phone, but it was logged with blood and AV is trying to revive it, but there are no promises" Wolfe looks as if he wishes he could've offered more. Eric sneaks a peek at Calleigh and can't tell what's going on in her head, when she looks back her eyes are blank.

"This guy's like a modern day Jack the Ripper. No evidence was left behind even through the stabbing" Natalia remarks, not missing the looks shared between Calleigh and Delko. She can't help but wonder what was happening between their own version of the golden trio. "Two hours past and still nothing" Natalia can feel her head exploding "my eyes are stinging from looking at the same evidence for so long, do I look like I had too much to drink Wolfe" Walter says trying to lighten the mood of the whole room. They leave, each going on their separate ways for a break leaving only Calleigh and herself in the room, how great of a situation. "What's going on, and what was **that **about?" She asks hoping Calleigh will be as honest as she usually is with her. "NO evidence whatsoever and what do you mean by _that?_" "You know what I mean Cal, if you won't tell me the situation then tell me how you're feeling" Nat sassed "Peachy, Natalia, just fucking peachy" and before Natalia can respond, Calleigh gets a page. "Dave was able to get information off the vic's phone" "Cal come on, you as well as I can use a girlfriend" and obviously Natalia pleading didn't help at all because Calleigh just walked away, heading to the AV lab. Natalia catches up and Calleigh's face was emotionless, the coldness there scared Natalia, she's never seen Calleigh look so cold before in her entire careerr.

"You got anything Dave?" she asks, as if nothing happened in the past five hours. "The phone was able to give us some info on the victim, but seeing how it was busted pretty bad, I could only pick up pictures." Calleigh felt relief at the statement "Any type of identification is good, especially a picture" "Yea give me a sec" Dave says. Natalia watched Calleigh over the corner of her eyes for the whole time they waited for Dave. Five minutes or five hours could've passed and they would feel the same. She could tell that Dave could feel the tension between her and Calleigh. Natalia isn't the only one that is worried about her. Everyone has their moments of weakness and Calleigh seems to have reached hers. Looking over at her, Natalia can see that Calleigh was on edge; something must've happened between the crime scene and the lab and hopefully won't act out on whatever's happening to her. This really isn't going to go well with the state of the lab at the moment this is the last thing the lab needs. "Looks like I was right, I could only access her pictures" interjects Dave. The picture of the woman popped up on the screen and Natalia had to gasp.

That woman was gorgeous, beyond gorgeous, really. The girl on the slab was nothing in comparison to what was on the screen. The victim was pale though of Hispanic descent, her hair was a wild light brown, and eyes hazel. She had a very toothy grin on her face, one full of innocence and life. Freckles dotted across her cheek over her nose and stopped at the other cheek. "That's Abigail, she lives two doors down from me" says Calleigh, and Natalia turned to look at her. "You sure Cal, you know her?" Natalia asks carefully. "I swear ,she lives right across the street from me. Her boyfriend lives on the other side of the park, he uses her as his personal boxing gym. She would stay over my house whenever it got too rough at his place, but I haven't seen her in over a week" Calleigh says. "So her boyfriend looks good for this then, that's what you're saying?" Natalia asks "I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he did. , but she would always take that route whenever things got really bad with him" Calleigh offers, tone lighter than before. "Did you try to help her" Natalia accused and immediately felt bad at the look of Calleigh's face, and the change in her tone sent chills down Natalia's spine. "Of course I did Boa Vista, I took her to the hospital to have multiple sex kits and they're here waiting to be reported. I was trying to encourage her to report the bastard and told her to call me whenever she wants to walk to my house, especially late at night. Natalia flinched at the use of her last name on Calleigh's lips. "Aww jeez Cal I'm so sorry." "I can't work this case then, I'll go inform Caine" "That seems like a good decision for now." Natalia was stunned at Calleigh's easiness into just giving up. "You and everyone else, since I have no open cases and so I guess I'll just head on home. See ya in three weeks" Natalia has to do a double check at what Calleigh said. Three weeks, what did she mean by three weeks?

"Well this isn't surprising at all, and what are you doing here O'Shay" Calleigh looks in despair at Horatio's paperwork and O'Shay. "You know what I don't care right now" and with that Calleigh heads off to Horatio's office, his paperwork in her hands. "You want to help me Horatio, then here's your paperwork, I can catch three more hours of sleep. Good night." Calleigh heads home straight after this and not even two hours upon her arrival, there's a knock at her door.

It didn't take long for O'Shay to hear about the fight between Caine, Delko, and Calleigh. He quickly made his way to the ballistics lab and met up with Calleigh. After her little tantrum in the lab she leaves without a word, which is the reason as to why he finds himself at her front door. Before he reaches her place though he decides to catch up with the Navarro's in case they know something he doesn't. He drives down the streets of Pompano, deep inside where the further you go, the richer the family. The mansion is a perfect reflection of the family that lives there, flashy. Esteban opens the door just as he's about to knock. "Scott, what's going on man." He says, grin alive on his face. "Just here for a friendly update, on both our parts" "That's always welcomed here, and here I thought you wanted to just hang out with my father" "Listen Esteban, I'm in a rush right now, whatever you did this morning is causing a very big rift to happen with the dynamic team." O'Shay adds hoping that the gravity of the situation isn't lost on Esteban. "Oh really, that's good news. Papi!"

O'Shay was surprised at the fact that Esteban called his father "Papi", he didn't know that Esteban was capable of an actual bond with a person. That was something he associated with a very caring family, which they didn't show much at all. What was more surprising was that Diego would call him "mijo" in turn. They really were a family full of surprises weren't they, well that's very annoying. They were the average family that spent time together, eating together, basking in the pain of others together. At this moment in time, it was his type of people and O'Shay wants to make sure that everything is in order before the plan can start snowballing. Diego was probably two inches taller than his son, but besides that they were copies of each other. "For the past week Caine and Calleigh have been at each other's throat. "Calleigh is starting to call Caine's gut feeling into question and is finally speaking up for herself" O'Shay didn't miss the smile on both the Navarro's faces. "So Caine's digging his grave even faster now, hmm this is good news thank you Scott for this revelation." Diego adds in the conversation "I'll make sure you are recognized for your helpfulness." O'Shay smiled at this, "So what now?" "Now Scott, you go check up on Leigh, seeing as you didn't mention anything about her." Esteban interjects "run along now". O'Shay walks off knowing that he himself is a pawn in this very complicated chess game. This is when he found himself knocking on Calleigh's door in the middle of the night.


	13. A Statement Given

Calleigh can't do anything but give an exasperated sigh at the person on the other side of the door. "Why are here?" O'Shay just continued on with that look of his, sure and cocky. "Look, for the past five years Caine's been causing major trouble further up the pay scale. He's been put into question so many times it's impossible for him to even get promoted."

"You've told me this before O'Shay, please if you're going to piss me off at least come up with new information" Calleigh was feeling her anger come back in full force withal this crap O'Shay was bringing up.

"Now, Calleigh, you've been put into light. As rank goes, you're next for a promotion, having seniority over the lieutenant." "And you're telling me this because..." O'Shay was really working her nerves right now. He probably wants to talk to her about that vacation plan of his. "I'm warning you not to follow his footsteps. Caine's stating to drag everyone down and the Captain can see that you're the 'purest' of the team."

"How the hell am I the purest one?" his chuckle further enrages Calleigh. "What are you playing at?"

"You have an almost pristine record and the way Caine is going, you'll crash and burn like the rest of them. And as for the game I'm playing, I'm trying to make sure at least one of you survives. That team brings in extra money every month and if everyone is replaced the productivity and money will be too." "I'm a pawn is what you're saying, look O'Shay I will take being a pawn, as long as I wasn't previously aware of it, now that I am I don't appreciate it. So do me a favor and get out before I make a very bad decision."

God Calleigh's being over analytical again. If O'Shay knew it was going to be this hard to win her over especially after her argument with Caine, he would've tried deeper into her vacation. "Well, more like I'm trying to better off the two of us. Think about it, while you're on vacation there will be checkups on the lab and then they'd pick out the little things Caine's been 're on vacation to avoid being put on leave, but the way they'll see it is a break since your friend has been killed."

Calleigh noticeably shudders at his statement. Well wasn't this hole he was digging getting deeper. She's going to have to take this more serious or else O'Shay will have a hard time trying to get her on his side. "You want me to abandon my team."

"No I want you to abandon _**the**_ team, and let nature run its course. It's either that or be put on administrative leave instead of this vacation you've been allowed on. I just wanted to warn you instead of having you be surprised."

_Why on earth would I want this? _Calleigh thought, actually why was she just thinking, "why would I want that, I would've preferred to have been Justas surprised as _**MY**_ team. What the hell O'Shay, if this is your way of getting me on your side it's not working!" _This is complete bull, how did I manage to get wrapped up in all this?_

"Calleigh, you are the last stop before the lab gets shut down, too many discrepancies have been noted, Calleigh I know I'm looking out for myself but I am for you as well." _Why is he still here?_ "Why are you still here?"

"Fine fine, I'm gone, goodbye Calleigh I will see you another day" and O'Shay leaves, Calleigh watches him walk back to his car, pulling out just as Horatio and Eric pulled in. _Great, just great._

"He's starting to grind my nerves" Horatio said just as he and Eric pull into Calleigh's driveway. "What the fuck is he doing here talking to Calleigh? There is no reason for it." Eric adds, blood boiling at the man currently driving off. "Well it looks like we're about to find out." They turn to see Calleigh leaning against her doorframe, face hiding the anger she must be feeling.

"You okay Cal, looks like O'Shay has been hassling you lately?" Eric asks, yet his sarcasm wasn't lost to any of them. "He hasn't" she answers "So what was he doing here, because if he wasn't hassling you, then what was happening?" "He's just being O'Shay okay Eric. I've told you guys before, whenever something major happens I have to answer to O'Shay, ad that was me answering to him."

Horatio could automatically tell that Calleigh wasn't telling them the whole story. "Swe-Calleigh, just tell us what's been going on recently, we just want to help you." "Nothing I'm fine, what's up?" he has to give it to her. Calleigh knows when things are happening. "We have to take a statement from you about Abigail" Horatio says as gently as he can, "and to win you back on our side" Eric adds. "I'm currently drawing my own line, so I have no sides, but please carry on."

They all reach inside with Eric and Horatio deciding to sit on the sofa while Calleigh occupies her armchair. Since she was in a bad mood, Calleigh decides against offering any refreshments, Southern refinement be damned.

"Abigail and I were good friends, she lives three houses down and across the street from me. She was only 34. As I told Natalia earlier, her boyfriend lives on the opposite side of the park. She would stay here whenever things got too bad. But I told her to call me if it is during the middle of the night to avoid what happened to her. I checked when I got home and she left me a voicemail. I must've been in a deep sleep because I didn't hear my phone ring at all."

Calleigh tears up at this and shrugs away Eric's attempt at comforting her. Now was not the time for all that, she was angry at them and herself, no way would she relent now at the sign of a couple of tears. "That's another thing Cal, we tried to wake you up last night but you were so out that we thought you were dead. Never have I seen you so knocked out before, actually when you were on your meds you were like dead weight, but only drugged have I seen you like that."

Eric looks her dead in the eye, he's always worn his heart on his sleeve and Calleigh at times was envious of that, but now it was annoying. "You think I'm being drugged? Well to be honest the last couple of days I've been knocking out earlier and longer than the usual and even Kevin's been acting funny. But then again I haven't been getting a lot of sleep for the past few months."

"Calleigh let's just check to be sure, we don't want to miss anything." Horatio is pleading at this point. Her stubborn streak is going to get her hurt and the murder of Abigail Nunez was evidence of that. "If you think that would help then go ahead. I'm so tired right now. If I am being drugged then who do you think is behind it?" And with one look Calleigh knows who they're thinking.

She trusts them; she really does, but only on a professional level. Horatio's been gone for too long, and Eric broke down her trust in him steadily for the past three years. "Never mind because obviously Navarro is going to be your top choice, let's just leave a suspect out until we have more physical proof. Go ahead and check my food, that's the only explanation I can offer."

Eric looks back at her sadly; this was not how he imagined this going. He was expecting a fight but Calleigh looks so broken right now, and she wasn't showing any signs of taking his comfort, something was going on. "Eric and I were talking on the car, and we both experienced the same thing last night. One minute we were both up the next we both remember is getting that callout." Calleigh's eyes raised at that "

So maybe I am getting drugged, that may explain a lot of our recent experiences, and mostly why I abandoned my friend. But it doesn't tell us who did it."

Horatio's head shot at Calleigh when she mentioned the word "Abandon". How she could possibly come to that conclusion was unknown to him. Never has he seen her so involved emotionally in a case. Navarro is starting to shake his Bullet Girl, and it seems like even Eric can't help prevent it. "We don't have any solid proof, yet but I am sure that we will in due time." His answer causes Calleigh to relax.

"I'm sorry guys, I've been on edge lately, I need a break" "That's what O'Shay was here about, you taking a vacation. Don't let him talk you into it Cal. He's just using you to make himself look better" Eric interjects. Horatio agrees with him saying that O'Shay probably has this all on his master plan for supreme rule over the lab.

Calleigh is to tired, too emotional, and too worked up to even care right now "Guys, just get whatever and just go. Yeah O'Shay was here talking about my leave, but that was it. I'm tired, and I have to call Abigail's mom tomorrow, so just leave with no drama." This was getting ridiculous; she should just tell them everything.

Yet something in her gut is telling her that this way was a better outcome than any other so she watches them leave. After they drive off, Calleigh crashes to the floor in a fit of sobs, it was her fault Abigail was killed. That was the only thing she was sure about, she got Abigail killed. If she had been paying more attention, none of this would have happened and Abigail and her would've been relaxing right now, watching TV or just talking to one another. Calleigh breaks down and cries, not knowing what else she was supposed to do.

(AN: Sorry this seems so rushed, I had to at least update something. Any problems you find, please tell me! Thanks!)


	14. I'm Back

UPDATE! Sorry for the wait.

I honestly missed writing from Esteban's POV because it's really fun to do. So I added this tidbit in and now I have to rewrite the proceeding chapters, but oh well it was worth it.

Esteban missed Leigh a whole lot, it's been over a week since he's seen her. He wanted to continue his usual business with her, but didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to himself. This neighborhood is pretty upscale and that girl he killed must have caused deep paranoia within the community. Oh, well it has been a pretty fun game so far, and no one important to him got hurt.

Leigh finally wised up and took that vacation so readily offered to her. This three week vacation of hers will give him ample time to act out on most of his urges. Scott's been informed on his part in easing Leigh into the upcoming events that she will be cast into. He can't wait until the day when they meet (the both of them conscious), will lift a weight off of his shoulders. Speaking of Leigh, she was asleep right now, her face turned towards him as if she was waiting for him to come.

He trips over Kevin just as he steps through the window, earning a sharp mewl from him. Leigh stirs and for the first time in his entire life he was scared. Luckily all she did was roll over and settle back down, that would have been bad. Maybe he should drug her again, though it seems unwise because of Caine sure o be snooping around.

If he dosed her sugar then maybe it can go by undetected, no one would think of that. _Leigh does love her sweet things, after all she is sweet._

"Hey Leigh, I missed you all week. It's been so long since we last shared a bed together. Papi's excited to meet you almost as much as I am to finally have you home with me. He is talking about us continuing the legacy of not only the Navarro line, but the family business as well." She must be tired, because she couldn't have any GHB left anywhere. Looks like she's gotten used to him being around her unconscious body, or else she would've woken up by now. Whatever the reason, she's not waking up now and he was grateful for it.

Her face was anything but relaxed, her forehead wrinkled, eyes dancing behind their lids, and the corner of her mouth downturned signaled how stressed or worried she is at the moment. She won't have to stress after her vacation is done now that he's here. He'll take care of her, make sure she is happy, protect her from the danger people like him pose. Keep her as far away from Caine's influence and anyone who's connected to him.

Slowly he slipped into the bed embracing Leigh in his arms, covering the sheets around the both of them. His deep breath relaxes him, as her scent has that effect on him. Leigh cuddles into him, rolls around and digs her head into his chest. "I love you too Leigh. I'll stay with you the whole night." Her sigh is followed by her body relaxing against his. Esteban stays up the whole night, watching her sleep the entire time.

It was her moving that woke him up. Her squirming against his chest was enough to warn him to wake up. He moves swiftly out of the bed and heads for the window, tripping over Kevin once again. The extra push allows him to make it through the window and shut it silently just as Leigh picks her head up. Esteban can see the confusion written on her face and decides it's best to leave before she sees him.

Laughing in his car, another night spent well, _as well as you can without sleep, _the escape was daring and was well worth it. His lack of sleep causes frustration and instead of heading home, he heads over to the garage. That prostitute from well over a week ago was still there, suffering in the darkness and silence.

She was still fun to play with, that toy that never got old would be the perfect description of her. Even Papi enjoyed playing with her, saying how lively she is. Right now will be the perfect time to remove her other eye. She had a lot of fight in her and maybe he'll get to hear her plead for her life today. It was really fun to see that happen, when they lost all hope and accepted that their life is at the mercy of his hands.

They would ask to be "let go", or "we won't tell anyone". It made him laugh and brought joy to him every single time. Every once in a while a girl would try to use sexual favors to let them go; it didn't make a difference since he enjoys the fight more than submission. The pleas and fight gave him more pleasure than anything else did.

She was scared; it's been a long time since she's seen outside. She couldn't bother to move anymore, her body wouldn't allow it anyway. The man who took her made a promise to not let her leave until Lee came home. One time she heard another voice, and thought that Lee finally arrived, but hearing the man call him Papi, she remembered that Lee was this man's love interest.

Never a day goes by without her hearing about Lee. The fact that she mistook Lee for a man shows how desperate she's getting at being freed. She's been here for what she assumed maybe four days. When she first came across him out in the streets with her friends he was charming. That immediately sends alarm bells ringing, but she had to make money somehow.

The charming ones always had some very "kinky" choices in sex that their partners wouldn't normally do with them. Those men usually resulted in her looking like a battered woman by the end of the night. Though the black eye and sore wrists were looking like a better deal than right now. When he strapped her down and uttered the promised she figured that he was going to kill her, but not before he's had his fun.

She can hear his footsteps and immediately tenses up. This was what she did anytime he appears. The first day he spent the entire time feeling her skin, combing her hair and comparing her to Lee.

Lee was beautiful, blonde green eyed; she was a petite one at that. She, Jannel, was never up to what the man wanted. Her hair wasn't light enough, eyes not green enough, voice to rugged whereas Lee's was angelic with a hint of her southern accent. When she told the man that she wasn't and never will be his Lee, he flipped.

He started to pound her body with his hands, calling her a whore and a slut. "You're worthless; nothing and no one can help you now. No one is going to try and find you, you're not important. So don't tell me you will never be Lee, I know you never can be her. You. Will. Never. BE. HER." he continued to insult her while loading out all of his anger.

He left her a mess and in the morning he decided sharp objects and her got along. That was unbearable. Imagine taking wire you would use to cut clay and slowly drag it along your thigh. Imagine being jabbed and stuck with a giant rusty needle over and over again. Imagine being forced to have sex with a person who has no regard for your wellbeing, ripping you apart from the inside out.

To feel hands wander, being called a name you grew to despise. You think you would be used to this, your profession certainly steels you, but this was different. Imagine watching as he grabs what looks like an eyelash curler and shoves it into your socket. The pain of having an outside source entering your eye. Feeling every point dig into your skull, grinding against your bone. The pain of having to see him put your eye in a glass jar full of others just like yours. The pain of knowing that you can't die until that BITCH gets here. Just imagine.


	15. Third Degree

_**Three weeks later**_

Her vacation was full of tension for the last week and a half, but the first week was somewhat relaxing. Yea she got to sleep in… way too much, but then her boredom stepped in. An amazing thing about being a CSI was the randomness of every case, a surprise around every corner. Even the routine cases were unpredictable, and if she had to admit, Calleigh enjoyed the adrenaline rush, and the hype of trying to solve the complicated puzzle each added to her spirit. She decided to stay in Florida in case something in Abigail's case, which had wrung dry by a week's pass, and immediately regretted staying.

Eric and Horatio said they found trace amounts of GHB, but the chemical was broken down and could be part of the preservatives inside her food anyway. This caused her to continue distrusting Eric and Horatio. She didn't mean for the distrust to even spark, but every day that passed had Calleigh on edge, and it didn't help that Scott was there every other day filling her head with what she knew were half-truths. Calleigh wouldn't so easily have believed in him if it wasn't for seeing Horatio do majority of the things Scott was saying. Horatio loved the attention he brought on, loved the publicity surrounding him.

Whenever they solve a highly publicized case he took the credit and pushed the team in the background. Hell, she found the Walsh baby, but Horatio took all the glory, he was there whenever she didn't need him. Even after she was kidnapped, Horatio didn't say one word to her until about three weeks later. _"You're okay you know that" _he says, like he knows if she really was fine.

At least that's what she told him to avoid any other questions from him. Out in the field she could trust Horatio, with any matter outside of that her trust was long gone. Same went to Eric; he's messed with her trust for too long now for her to connect with him like that again. It all built up after years of slaving after someone who outwardly didn't appear to even worry about you. Now, from this day forth she promises to do her share of the work load, making Horatio do his own paperwork, and not picking up anything in her job description doesn't list.

She readies herself for the onslaught of hate she knew she would face throughout the day from the fellow lab techs and CSIs. Walking to the ballistics lab, which was way in the back, she was met with glares and angry whispers of the others. Deciding to ignore them, she starts out her day with a five round shooting case.

She couldn't really care; this vacation was good for her, full of peace and relaxation (with the exception of the last week and a half). Scott was right, all she needed was a vacation and her peaceful time helped her sort out some things. All her previous lost hours of sleep were made up, and she loved every second of it. All except for the past week and a half of course.

Eric sat staring at the wake of Calleigh just walking through the halls to get to her lab. She walked through the halls as if she never left, but the others knew differently. She did leave and left a mess for them to sift through. Everyone was surprised that she took a vacation, but they figured she needed soace after the gruesome murder of the Nunez case.

The boyfriend looked good for it, except there was no evidence of him actually committing the crime. He was, however, charged with all types and counts of assault, and all types of counts and types of battery. He was even charged with the many tyoes of sexual assault, but those cases had enough evidence to back it up. Calleigh did a good job in keeping up with the records, and having them on file. It broke Eric's heart when he heard of the connection between the remains and Calleigh.

It shattered him when Calleigh told them Abigail had called her but she was asleep and didn't pick up. At that point, Eric knew she was blaming herself for the murder of her friend. Everyone in the building tried to get ahold of her the past three weeks, but unless you called her work phone, she wouldn't answer. Eric couldn't help but be a bit angry still, instead of turning to him or the team; she chose to turn to O'Shay.

There was nothing he, himself, Horatio, Ryan , Natalia or anyone else could say to get her to take a vacation before. Yet O'Shay was able to gte her to take one, a three week vacation at that. Not to mention the accreditors doing surprised sweeps last week. They questioned why Calleigh was on vacation, but something in their eyes told him they already knew. Alarm bells started to ring constantly and everyone was on edge, like they knew something big was going to happen. He and Horatio decided to give her some space, not like they had achoice, she wouldn't let them in past her foyer.

She looked more relaxed than she has in over a year, but maybe two weeks into the vacation she was jumpy and a bit agitated. She blamed it on Kevin constantly scratching and running around, or deciding that tag was a game you coud play forever, but he knew something was wrong. Still, she abandoned them and he and the rest of the lab will need a lot before they could forgive. Forgive but never will they forget.

"What's with the third degree Boa Vista?" Calleigh asks, eating her lunch a good foot away from Boa Vista.

"Really? Well you did leave for three weeks Calleigh." she snarks. "Oh and we had surprise inspections ALL last week" Calleigh looked up at this, she had forgotten about that. "Oh yea you guys did, I know it went not according to plan." Boa Vista was stunned to hear this.

"Well it went well for the most part, they asked about you and they knew the answers to those questions."

"Of course they did Boa Vista, Human Resources had to report to them"

"Calleigh there is no need for the sassiness. I just wanted to know why we, as in the team and I, don't know the reason. All Horatio knew was that you took time off, and we assumed it had to do with you being distraught over Abigail" Calleigh visibly winced at the sound of her name but was able to ignore the worried look Natalia sent her way. "It wasn't just that, I worked up a lot of hours on the job".

"So have I" Boa Vista interjects

"More so than any other person at MD in total. It would've been called into question and they would've investigated into it further and seeing some procedural discrepancies leading to the breaking up of this team." Natalia stared blankly at the revelation and quickly turned angry

"Don't turn this back on us. We haven't done anything against procedure, if that's your way of saying that **you** didn't want to get fired then come out and say it!" Calleigh chuckled at her outburst, that team was a hot mess. "Now's not the time for giggles Calleigh, two techs could be getting fired."

"I know that Boa Vista" "How do you know that?" "'I knew about the inspections weeks before it happened, that and I know the outcome of the inspection results." "How do you know all this, why couldn't you warn us ahead of time?" Natalia looked pissed and Calleigh laughed at her facial expressions. H

er eyes were wide in shock and dear Calleigh say…fear? "Because I do, and before you, Caine, or the rest of the team attack me, I can't tell you anything. Now if you don't mind, not that I care, I'm going to go do my job. Or at least what's left of it." Calleigh gets up and leaves the break room, laughter coated heavily in her accent. She mutters a quick "hi Wolfe" and was gone.

Ryan entered the break room. Natalia could see that he heard most of the conversation, but his face was scrunched up in confusion. "I see your talk with Calleigh didn't go as well as you planned. And did she just called me Wolfe?"

"Yea, something must've happened over her break. Hey if you think that was weird she called me Boa Vista." "Did you get anything from her?"

"Just that she knew the inspections were happening and that she knows the results from the inspections". Ryan was way past confused by now. "I heard that much and I can see that that's all she told you?" "Actually, she said that an inspection would've been opened on the procedural discrepancies this team has been exposed to."

"Procedural discrepancies?" Ryan asks with a tilt of his head. "Yea I know. She also said Caine and _**the**_ team, as if she didn't think herself a part of it. "Maybe she really does think she is separate from us then. We have to figure out what's going on Nat. I don't like this one bit." She agrees with a slow nod. "Sounds like a plan Ryan. Besides it has been pretty dead around here lately".

Sorry on the slow updates. Leave a review if you so wish. Thank you very much (^~^)


	16. Flustered

Horatio wasn't lost to the animosity directed towards Calleigh the entire day. He couldn't deny the staff the feelings since her vacation was unbeknowst to even himself. Many thought she couldnt handle the pressure of all of the cases, especially the "Taunter" case. Adding the murder of her friend Abigail, she must've caved and decided that a vacation was in order.

The only grief she was afforded was that of her friend, no one deserves to die that way, especially Abigail. That woman has seen more violence in her adult life than Horatio did as a child. The techs all understood that Calleigh and Abigail were as close as ever and that Calleigh was asleep when Abigail called her. They all could see that Calleigh blamed herself for the murder three weeks ago. Now looking at her Horatio could tell she still did.

Hpratio wasn't mad at her like the techs, he was more disappointed. She wasn't able to pull herself together enough to push her problems away to come through for the lab. Those surprise inspections threw everyone off their game, two techs couldn't pull through and now their jobs are on the lines. One of them was an up and coming ballistics tech who looked up to Calleigh immensely. He was a mess and it was all down to Calleigh's natural field of strength which of course wasn't there.

Everyone felt as if Calleigh could've helped out the poor guy, but was not there tobe able to lend support. The lab was a team, a family who looked out for one another whenever things got rough. But Calleigh alone was enough to shake the very foundation they had built. Sure the techs were being irrational, but he could see their rationalization behind it. Grabbing Eric, they head off to Calleigh's place, intent on finding what really went down three weeks ago.

Eric was silent the entire ride giving Horatio time to think once again on the situation at hand. Eric must be having a hard time dealing with this. Calleigh always went tohim if something was bothering her. He was her rock and he continued to be for a while after they had broken up. They were inseperable, always close to each other no matter how they felt at the moment. But now,now Eric would come to him telling how she would refuse to say the "good" in "good morning" to him. She cut Eric off completely and out of the blue and Eric was hurting. He, he was the first of her long line of victims.

They were all stressed, they all had their problems, but she didn't approach anyone, didn't talk to anyone about it. Horatio himself would talk to Eric and vice versa but Valleigh turned to no one. Horatio couldn't help but feel a little contempt towards her, contempt yet sadenned, betrayed.

Even with all of the cases going on, Calleigh managed to snag three weeks worth of paid leave. Horatio suspected it had something to do with that ta lk she had with O'Shay and this irked him. How dare O'Shay come into HIS lab and try to control HIS people. Horatio's naturally protective nature had him on edge the whole three weeks, watching closer and spending more time with his staff in case someone else wanted to swoop in and coerce another staff member. O'Shay is walking a fine line at the moment, and it really is going to be a trying time.

Maybe this is what his gut was telling him, that feeling that has been residing inside since the day Navarro laid eyes on Calleigh. Maybe it was, but the feeling was still there. Calleigh leaving wasn't the climax he had hoped for. Maybe she'll be leaving, maybe that's what his gut was telling him. She wouldn't leave would she. No of course not, she told him long ago that she would walk the lonely road with him. But now that he'swalking, he can feel that he was alone this whole time and that Calleigh. That Calleigh went on a different path a long time ago.

This shocked Horatio, had he really been so absent that he hadn't noticed O'Shay had basically carried Calleigh into his arms. O'Shay probably started grooming her from the beginning. She did say that since Stetler was gone she had to answer to him. O'Shay probably picked up on her growing discomfort and took advantage of her. The way they interacted with one another plainly showed how much they actually talked to each other. Maybe Calleigh finally had someone to go to when something was troubling her.

That was heartbreaking, Horatio realized that what she said was right, that he was absent from her and the team's lives that he doesn't know them anymore. That's what it sounded like she was saying at least. He's been so far into himself that he wasn't aware of anyone else around him. He left her with his paperwork and brought the others out into the field. He basically was there for everyone, everyone but her.

Not one word was passed between him and Eric when he knocked on her door. None was needed, they both knew what they were here for. Her odd behavior and questioning loyalty needs to stop, she needs to be honest with them. Noises and shuffling could be heard on the other side of her door and they both were prepared for the unexpected. She opened the door with wide eyes, flushed skin, completely flustered, and distracted with a hint of panic in her eyes.

"You okay Cal?" Eric asks, eyes sparked with worry. "I'm fine what's up?".

"You sure, you look flustered and worried" Horatio responds, something is definitely wrong. Calleigh gives him a hard, cold look "Yea, yea I'm fine really,I just have something to do in like five minutes. So if you guys don't mind, can you please tell me what you guys want?" This was going to be hard Horatio realized.

"We wanted to check up on how you're first day back went. Eric and I noticed the...tension, and we want to know how you're doing"

She sighs and looks at Horatio, his words sinking in. She makes no move to let them in (figuratively and literally), in fact she closes the door a little more before stopping to look at them. The trio stood staring at each other, Calleigh's breathing was fast and her eyes were darting quickly between he and Eric. Sweat was gathered at her forehead and she was biting her lip hard. A a hand throughher hair and another look at Horatio had him on edge. He looks at Eric and their hands go to their weapons.

"What are you guys doing?" Calleigh asks bewildered, she's panicking now and closes her door further. "Put your guns away, I said I was fine!"

"Right Cal, you're fine, you've just been avoiding everyone, being hostile, betraying the team and the lab. But yourefine and I digressed" Eric snaps at her, it seems the only way to get through to her was being aggressive.

"I have been busy with my own things for the first time in a long while. Y-y-you guys are bothering me and I am on the verge of violence now. So yea I'm not fine, but right now you guys are not my priority anymore. Inl don't have to put up with this and will not have you come on my property just to cause more strife." Her voice is heavy with the tears in her eyes. "Look Delko, I'm tired and I still have a lot to do before I can crash. Thanks for the visit now leave"

"Swe-Calleigh, if you need anthing ma'am, you know where to find me" Horatio offers."Trust me,that will not be necessary any time soon. Trust me for once okay?" Came her cold response before her door closes completely.

"That was... beyond...odd" "Did she just call me Delko? I thought Natalia was kidding when she said Calleigh called her and Ryan by their last names" Eric wonders out loud. "It's like she was distancing herself from us professionally and emotionally brother. We find out what happened during her time off. As soon as you know anything, you let me know Eric".

Calleigh turns around after shutting the door "Are you completely insane! Why would you do something like that?" Calleigh sneers at him. Esteban however thought this was funny, as he was laughing up a storm at the predicament. "I have to admit, I do love this adrenaline rush you and Caine afforded me." God, Esteban was so annoying, Calleigh couldn't even imagine what would've happened if Caine and Delko walked in her house.

"What do you think would've happened if they came in?" Esteban's face turned to wonder at her question. "You wouldn't have let them in Leigh" he answers truthfully. "If I repeatedly tried to keep them out, they'd force their way in."

"Yea, but the charges wouldn't have stuck. They didn't get your permission to come in" his face turns humorous at his answer. "Reasonable doubt dumbass,how have you lasted this long without anyevidence being found against you? The way you think is completely skewed" how can he be so carefree, he was behind the door when she answered it and remained there the duration of the conversation.

"You invited me inside the house Leigh" "No, you were here when I got hom-to my house" "I didn't hear you kick me out though". "Do I even have a choice, because believe me Esteban, if I knew I could've kicked you out I would've kicked you out of my bed a week and a half ago." They both head to her bedroom, Esteban in a fit of laughter and Calleigh in a fit of hysteria.


	17. Sparse Explanation

These _days in_ account for the vacation Calleigh was sent into. Happy readings, comment if you wish (~*~)

**4 Days In**

O'Shay knocks on her door, offering her a choice to do something for once. Today will be the day Calleigh gets to know why everything is happening and to her. She opens her door and O'Shay is taken back by how broken and empty she looks. Her hair usually bright and lively was now hanging and extremely dull, as if the life had been sucked out. Her body was slumped over in defeat, clothes hanging off of her limply. Her shining, vibrant eyes showed the years of stress and suddenly she appeared older than her actual age. The only shine in her eyes was from the tears she was clearly holding back.

"What do you want O'Shay?" she looked like she was in a very bad mood and he figured that maybe today wasn't such a good day to further ruin her life. But he has orders to fulfill and getting on the bad side of the Navarro's was not a good idea.

"To give you a sparsely detailed message from an admirer. Sparsely detailed mind you." _This is going to be a very rocky start to her new life_. "What do I need to know, wait sparsely know" "Good to know your spunk is still here. Listen this is serious Calleigh, I want you to listen closely okay?"

_Maybe he should've told her in a less abrupt way, she is starting to panic._ "What? What is wrong O'Shay did something happen to the team? Are they alright, please don't tell me." Her breaths were visible, chest heaving up and down, relaying the panic she must be going through.

"Calleigh relax you're panicking for no reason. The team is fine, what I meant was that we have things to talk about. Things that you need to know beforehand." _That was a nice way to put things_ O'Shay figured.

"Enlighten me then, because I'm beyond panic right now." Calleigh looked like she was about to break something, or someone. "Well it's about why I pushed so hard for you to go on vacation" her eyebrows rise up in determination, a look O'Shay grew to recognize. "Wasn't it so you could keep your records safe while using me to build yourself a new empire? Was I close O'Shay?" _this woman is really sassy, ugh this is going to be hard. _"Calleigh it's about the Taunter case, I have information"

"Do you know who it is?" Calleigh was excited at this, well more on alert but excited nonetheless. "Yea Calleigh I do."

"Why come to me why not Horatio?" she fixes him with a glare so full of accusation that he has no choice but to confess. "Calleigh, I hate to be cliché but, this is bigger than you and me. At first we all were going to watch the team crash and burn. That was up until Caine started to alienate himself after the death of Delko's sister. That was when you started to show your truer colors. Your knack for naturally leading and the way you handled the cases that day showed a more representative way as supposed to the way of Caine. Even when Caine returned you still were the one everyone turned to. They knew that the lieutenant was not going to care for them on a basic level, not unless they were in dire legal trouble at least. You were the one that brought the light when all everyone could see is darkness. We realized that you held promise than we formally thought. You're the one everyone follows, Caine simply is the boss; you are the friendly face that helps keep everyone together."

Her face was blank while he was explaining things, like she was trying to decide how she should respond. "Yea okay, I realized that I was a pawn since about two years ago, at least that's the way Stetler always seemed to say whenever we spoke. After he was arrested you came swooping back in and that's when I knew something more than laundering was at the core of MDPD. I also figured that you had a bigger role in this, but it seems like your just a pawn on a grander scale than I. But what does that have to do with the Miami Taunter?"

"Nothing gets past you huh Duquesne? Look, everything is falling into place. Your vacation is to keep you protected from the surprise inspectors that are itching for a kill. With you safe here, we can put all the separate parts into a whole." Calleigh gets up and begins pacing the room. _She is making the whole block nervous_. "O'Shay you're not making any sense. What is this plan? And who is 'we' and why do you keep mentioning them?"

"We want to cause strife between the team, give us more reason to disband them. The 'we' is a group of us, mostly Caine's enemies, and the Taunter and his family, oh and me." Give a bone and they will take. "So you know who the Taunter is I take it? And I see why you won't tell Horatio but you tell me why? This really is making my head hurt O'Shay; can't you go straight to the point?"

"Yes once again I do, he wants me to give you a message" she starts to interrupt…again "no let me finish, he wants to keep you safe. He built up an obsession with you; he tells me that you'll be fine no matter the outcome."

"So who is the Taunter O'Shay? It's not like you're beating around the proverbial bush". "You know that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one day Calleigh."

"Apparently I'm safe no matter what I do, so continue on with this big reveal." _Once again, sassy. _

"It's Esteban Navarro Calleigh. It's him. I know you don't think so right on but it really is him. And before you tell me that you're going to go to Horatio or some other officer with this. He also gave me a warning to go with the message." O'Shay is extremely nervous with this pertinent information. Calleigh is a very intelligent woman, she knows her way around things. She can find loopholes in an airtight seal without lifting a finger.

"What is this warning that he can scare me into not telling anyone? And why the hell is he infatuated with me?" she asks. Now he's got her interest, that's impressive. Uncovering a big secret excites these CSI's so quickly, she just took relatively more time to get piqued.

" Esteban has this…attraction to green eyes, I don't know why he just does. You, have green eyes. Also he said something about being able to break down that wall you built in order to let people out. He also says that you're gorgeous and honestly a very intriguing person who he would love to figure out. but that's not important now, you'll have enough time when he comes sees you to learn of his plans with you." The look on her face tells him that he just freaked her out completely, deciding to skip over further explanation, he jumps right into the warning.

"He warns that just one whisper, one ounce of rumor or gossip, or any sideway glances from anyone and it's going to get bad. Unless they find critical evidence of course, Esteban is very reasonable person believe it or not. He says that he will continue on with his business this time adding more personal people to the mix. Like your father, brothers, even the people on the team. Basically anyone and everyone you hold dear to you will be killed, except he'll take his slow personal time."

Calleigh looks defeated after a moment of mental debate. Anyone could tell that's she's working through any scenarios in her head, and they all looked bleak. This is the first time O'Shay's seen her look so hopeless. Maybe coming to her so soon was a good idea. She now had the brutal murder of her friend and the possible future torture/murder of her loved ones to think about. it is riding on her shoulders from right now, everything she says or does will determine her fate. He has to admit though wounding an already wounded soldier is a low blow, but if that's what he needs to get to the top then so be it. It is wrong for him to be on this side of the law but pay is good and so is power, and all Calleigh has to do for hm is to keep her mouth shut.

**Present Day **

Esteban is relaxing on her bed as if he didn't just pull a childish prank. He is so infuriating, ever since Scott mentioned him way back into her "vacation", she's been on edge. She believed Scott when he told her about Esteban's warning; it broke her down every day. Wondering if she should tell someone about what she knows and tell them all that's happening. But to risk them getting hurt was something she couldn't do. There was something in Scott's voice, something in his face, especially his eyes that told her it was true. That every word he spoke wasn't just some elaborate prank he decided to pull.

It seems like everything going on in her life was spiraling out of control. Or it was part of the grand scheme that "they" had planned since the beginning. It certainly is not fun being the pawn in a game that's been played through a million times even before she got involved. Whoever "they" are, they know her weaknesses, and they're taking advantage of it. "What are you thinking about Leigh?" he asks running a hand through her hair as if he believes it will calm her down.

It all winds down to her sitting in her house, with a sociopathic serial killer relaxing on her bed speaking to her like a lover would. Oh how the tides have changed. Too tired to careshe looks him dead in the eyes, unknowingly showing him the exact opposite of what she says, hoping that he'll leave her alone. "I'm fine Esteban believe me I'm fine. I'm just tired that's all, I just want to go to bed."

"Well let's go then" how the hell can he be so happy about something like going to bed. His face is full of hope and she realizes that they're going somewhere else than her bed. "Go where Esteban?" she sighs, already not liking the answer.

"Home Leigh, where else would we go?"


	18. Everyhting is Starting to Click

Yay updates! I get antsy whenever someone doesn't update soon enough, and here I am not updating soon enough!

"Esteban, in case you hadn't realized… I am home." Calleigh immediately regretted saying that. When Esteban first "introduced" himself to her, he was adamant on her referring to her home as her house. Esteban would become enraged when the word "my home" flew from her lips.

A couple of day's back, when she said my home, Esteban slapped her on her bottom. She herself became mad and hit him back, and a fight ensued. Calleigh was really trying to hurt him but Esteban was laughing it off, thinking that they were playing a game. The fight ended with her tucked between his thighs and him laughing at her even harder.

This time however, she pissed him off in a whole new way. Esteban's eyes grew dark, a telltale sign he was really angry. His arm shot out and grabbed her by her wrists before wrenching her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Esteban! What?" Calleigh screams "No Calleigh, no more talking. I know I'm being rough but you know I hate when you say things like that".

Esteban carried her down the road unnoticed by anyone in the neighborhood and down into his car. He plopped her unceremoniously in the front seat of his rolls. He gets in without a word and drives off in a huff.

They make their way through the streets of Miami watching people and landscape whizz by. The deeper into Coral Gables Esteban drove, the bigger and showier the houses became. They turn into a driveway and Calleigh's jaw drops.

She knew they were very wealthy people, but this house was impressive. It was a huge two story, 7,000 square foot house that seemed to swallow the plot of land it was built on. It alluded to the Navarro Cuban heritage and was a soft orange with scarlet shingles.

They pull up in front of the garage and Calleigh has to take a second before she could think of stepping out of the car. "Go on Leigh, the door is open."

"You know that I am very much hating you right now?" she asks. It was very true, Esteban can be very annoying and this right now was very annoying. Calleigh hates having control taken away from her. She has to be in control of something as simple as choosing where to sleep at night.

"Leigh, come on, it's getting late." He says in a soft tone. Like somehow that would calm her down and it worked. "Okay, I guess."

She stepped out the car and slowly made her way to the front door, hesitating for a split second before turning the handle. "Here you go Calleigh, your life will officially change." She boosts herself.

She turns the handle and opens the door, stepping slowly into the grand foyer. This place was a lot larger on the inside than what the outside suggests. "You can immediately tell where your parents came from, it's a really nice house Esteban."

"Thanks bebe" Calleigh turns to look by a stairwell, where the voice originated from. An older version of Esteban came walking down the stairs, clad in sweatpants and a tshirt. "I'm Diego Navarro. Loving and caring father of mijo back there. You, just as mijo does will call me Papi."

Calleigh could immediately tell that Esteban got all of his brashness from. "Hello Papi." Her greeting was met with a smile. Diego wrapped his arm around her in a warming hug, and it wasn't as awkward as one might think it was. He squeezed her lovingly and Calleigh had to stop and think. _Does Diego know of Esteban's hobby?_ Probably not, because no parent would love to see his child be a killer.

"I see Esteban has brought you here in one piece." She looks up to see him smiling brightly down at her, she couldn't help but smile back as she replied. "Yea, and no worse for wear. I'm really tired though and my day was pretty rough." _No need to be hostile to these people._

"Well good, I hope you can find comfort in your new home as quickly as possible. Mijo, take her to your room, don't be a bad host." He quips as Esteban walks through the front door. At the look of exasperation on Esteban's face Calleigh laughs, it is comforting to know that Esteban can get flustered by something.

"Really Papi? Never mind. Come on Leigh, let's go to our room" Calleigh follows begrudgingly with a huff. They make their way up the stairs and turn down the hall to a hallway of doors. "This is our wing of the house, there are enough rooms here for you to hide if you feel the need to."

What? "You have a whole wing to yourself? And why would I need to hide?" Calleigh asks. His smile told her of his devious mind, yet his eyes were showing that he had nothing up his sleeve, as if he was innocent.

"Oh no reason, I can just imagine you hiding from all of us. And no I don't have a whole wing to myself. **We** have a whole wing to **ourselves**." At this moment Calleigh appreciates his boyish good looks, strong jaw and strangely enough his sparkling eyes, bright with laughter and joy.

"Oh okay then, where's our room?" Calleigh asks, curiosity piqued completely.

**11 Days In **

Esteban enjoyed Leigh's vacation a lot more than she did. Every single night Esteban could be found snuggled into her side. He laughed because Kevin could be found waiting by her bedroom window for him to climb through.

Giving Kevin his desired pet, Esteban found himself climbing slowly into Leigh's bed. Her supply of GHB was gone and should be completely out of her system by now. So tonight was the night that he would come forward in his actions of the past month or so.

The bed dipped heavier than usual this time, almost as if it was just as ready for the meeting as he was. She shifted a little and he brought his hand to her hair in a familiar motion, calming her down. She settled immediately and Esteban was lulled to sleep by her breathing against his chest.

It was about four in the morning when Leigh started to move around. In less than a second, Calleigh woke up, wiped her eyes, and get up to go to her restroom. She came back after five minutes and settled back into his chest. _Well that was unexpected._

She popped up and looked at him with tired eyes. "Hey there Calleigh" he starts hoping that his calm tone wouldn't startle her too much.

"Navarro? As in Esteban Navarro? Hmm I guess Horatio was right" Calleigh states quietly in disbelief. "Yea I heard he was onto me, but he isn't getting really far." Esteban teases. "I expected for you to freak out, attack and shoot me. No offense." Calleigh's face turns up to a smile at his words.

"Scott told me to expect this a while back so I am not going to freak about it, as for attacking you, I'm too tired to attack you. As for shooting you, that requires movement and I'm too tired once again to do that" she looks at him with her eyes gazing at him hard.

She really was beautiful, her eyes bounced the moonlight off perfectly. They were enchanting and caught your attention immediately. He reaches his hands up to brush her cheek and she tenses at his touch. Rubbing his thumb on her cheekbones, he makes soothing hums that calm her down almost immediately.

"I also assumed that you've been doing this for a while so flipping out and attacking you is out of my nature. One question though. What is stopping me from going to the police with this? I assume that you have a plan for this as well."

My my she's a smart one, Esteban had to stop to and look at Leigh agan. She was beauty and brains wrapped up into a petite package. She was simply perfect.

"I was going to threaten you with killing you, but then you'd be dead and I'd be in prison and we'd both lose. Or a better one with me killing a girl every single week adding a girl as the week passes. Leading your team on an elaborate chase only ending you guys in a dead end." Esteban smirks at her look of terror.

"So I guess arresting you is out of the question, seeing as it wasn't on your list." Calleigh looks at him with a smug expression probably happy about having the upper hand on him for once. _Clever clever girl she is._

"Yea Leigh, you have a great way of finding loop holes in everything you see and hear. I can see why you're an excellent CSI." She smiled at him and seemed a bit unsteady.

"I won't say anything I already told O'Shay as much earlier in the week. Did you kill that prostitute that went missing recently?"

"Yea her, no I didn't, she's still alive." _I almost killed her though, but Leigh doesn't need to know that. _

"So she's tucked away in a dark corner with her eyes ripped out of her skull, and alone in a cold place." Leigh started to get angry, her face turning red as her words grew on.

"You sound disapproving Leigh."

"You torture, possibly rape, and kill women. Why would that be something to approve?"

"Touché Leigh, oh and sorry by the way. About the Nunez girl. I saw Delko and Caine spending the night with you and I lost all of my control and she just happened to be in my path on the way back to my car."

Leigh is an extremely expressive person when she wants to be and to hear her express herself isn't a surprise. However, it was a big surprise to feel it.

She began to lay hit after hit after hit after hit on Esteban's chest screaming about how she hated him. Esteban however felt a bit angry. All he did was lose his temper, and she said she hates him. That was barely anything to proclaim hate for a person. "She was my friend." She kept repeating it over and over and over again.

Sitting up Esteban had to restrain Calleigh by her arms and hug her tightly to his chest. She tried to hit him again and repeatedly muffled "She didn't, she didn't" before her arms started to lose their fight and she gave up. They fell limp between the two of them and Calleigh fell asleep against his chest. Esteban laid them both down and held onto Calleigh hoping she'd feel the comfort he was trying to give her.


	19. That's Where it Went

I graduated so here are updates up the ass! Please leave a review if you so wish and mostly ENJOY!

**11 Days In cont**

Esteban woke up feeling refreshed. Everything so far has been going great, nothing was a toe out of line. Rolling over Esteban finds a cold empty spot on the bed where Leigh should be. Getting up he figures she's in the bathroom. Not caring about her privacy he opened the door to find the bathroom empty.

_Hmmm where is she? _Heading out her room he makes it to the living room to find a heartbreaking sight.

Leigh was on her couch, laying sideways in the fetal position with dry tears marking her cheeks. It was more than obvious that she had cried herself to sleep again and that what he said last night had deeply affected her._ I said I was sorry._

He kneeled face level to her and ran his fingers through her hair. She nuzzled into his palm as it reached her cheek. "Is it bad you only allow me to touch you is when you're sleeping?" he asks to the open air.

Esteban stays with her until she opens her lost and defeated eyes, a few hours later only to hold her again as she cried at the loss of her friend.

Today was Abigail's funeral.

**Present Day**

Calleigh followed Esteban up the stairs and to an empty wing of the mansion. This is our wing, we have it all to ourselves, Papi's wing is on the other side and Mami's wing is down the hall to the right." He informs her.

"Who is Mami? I was under the impression that your mother either left or died years ago." Calleigh asks, now honestly curious about an aspect of Esteban's life.

"No, my real mother is gone, Mami on the other hand, you will meet later, she visits every once and a while. You'll love her trust me Leigh." Esteban states with a soft smile on his face. Calleigh had to stop and look at him. Esteban's eyes were shining even more brightly than they did before and it was refreshing for her to see softness again.

He guided her over to a door at the end of a hallway, he beckoned her forward and once again she hesitantly reached forward. She pushed open the heavy door and was astonished at the room.

It was the size of her living room! Why on earth would someone need such a big room? Calleigh stood in awe at the magnificence of the space. His walls were a soft cream and played off of his mocha colored furniture. His room reminded her of a gourmet cup of coffee, which relaxed her more.

Stepping further into his room, Calleigh found herself being bombarded with a 67 inch flat screen TV, way too big for one person's room. The California king sized bed looked like a cloud of fluff and softness. It also looked like it was extremely lonely and would swallow a person whole.

"Why is everything so BIG in this house?" she asks finally asking the question which hanged heavily on the tip of her tongue. "I like to strut that everything I have is** big.**" His last word was said with every bit of suggestiveness that the statement held. Calleigh blushed at his phrase and was highly uncomfortable. Her discomfort turned to horror as she spotted a familiar sight laying on Esteban's bed.

On the bed, laying on a pillow was her nightgown, her favorite nightgown. The one she thought she lost almost a month back. She picked it up and smelled the familiar vanilla scent that was barely noticeable. Instead replaced with the smell of cocoa butter and coconuts.

She promised herself she was finished with crying and that no more tears would be shed because of Esteban, but how could she not cry? She went and screamed at both Horatio and Eric about not trusting them outside of work, and here they were, correct about Esteban. She chose to ignore them and let her pent up anger get the best of her.

Now here she was, nightgown in the possession of the man she so readily defended only because Horatio was going on a manhunt for. At this moment Calleigh decided that she is a horrible person, and that she was the direct cause of the situation she's in now.

"Leigh, I've told you there is no reason to cry. I got carried away and took your nightgown. I was going to return it but I couldn't bring myself to do it. But there is no reason to cry about it, just put it on and wear it to sleep tonight, I bet it'll make you feel better." Calleigh turned to look at Esteban as he tried to comfort her.

Esteban dragged her onto the bed and wrapped the blankets around them and it caused Calleigh to cry harder. How could she look at anyone in the eye tomorrow without feeling any guilt? Thankfully for Esteban, who was holding her down, and thus permitting her from not running away to go and die in some cold and dark place.

She felt Esteban running his hands through her hair and while that habit tended to annoy her, she found herself comforted by it and unconsciously Calleigh found herself leaning into Esteban for more. His scent made its way to her nose and soon she found herself lost in a haze of coconut and her vanilla mixing together.

Esteban's heart was beating steadily against his chest and she could feel it beating on her cheek. His breath was deep and even, as if he was asleep. She would've thought so if it weren't for the stroking his hand was doing in her hair.

"You feeling better Leigh? Just relax okay, and go to bed you will feel better in the morning."

Calleigh chose to believe his words as the minutes drew by and decided that sleep was the best thing for her right now. So with Esteban's fingers running through her hair, his heart beating against her ear, and his calm breaths mirroring hers, Calleigh fell asleep.


	20. Consequence Pt 1

Calleigh woke up to the shrill of an alarm clock. Esteban shifted next to her and slammed the alarm off. "Come on Leigh, I set the alarm to 6:30 so you can go to work" and at his phrase Calleigh popped up fast.

"Oh my god, I have work! Where are my clothes? How the hell am I supposed to reach with no car?" Calleigh started to panic. How could she be so stupid! How did she allow herself to get dragged into this house without any way to function? She had no toiletries and no clothes or her car. God, today is going to be as shitty as last night was.

"Whoa Leigh calm down, I have clothes for you and there is a toothbrush and your toiletries in the bathroom for you already. Trust me I thought of everything before. Scott is coming in a half hour to bring you to work." She turned to look at Esteban, his eyes were shining with his brilliance and Calleigh scoffed internally. "Thank you Esteban, so I guess I will get dressed then?" with a tilt of his head, he lead her into the bathroom before turning around.

She immediately fell in love with his bathroom, it was beautiful as well as huge. The tile was a gorgeous cream like his room, walls white and granite accents along the tub, shower, and sink. The tub, no, the Jacuzzi could hold four people and seemed like she could live in it. The shower looked as if i it could hold ten and the walls were clear. That was discomforting, Esteban could walk in on her at any moment.

She walked towards the sink and grabbed the toothbrush still in its package. She looked around and noticed her makeup bag, comb, and brush by the faucet of her presumed side of the sink. She applied her makeup and brushed her hair right before Esteban just walked in. "Knocking works wonders you know."

"Really Leigh? Anyway, Scott is downstairs waiting for you." He drops her clothes on the counter. "I brought you a green shirt, it makes your eyes pop out more. Shows of their beauty, your beauty." His eyes took a dark tone to them, almost like he's spaced out and Calleigh felt a chill run down run spine. That certainly was offsetting.

"Thank you." He remained. "You can get out the bathroom Esteban." He just grinned, eyes still holding the darkness.

"I've already seen you naked Leigh. But if it makes you feel better I'll leave."

She turned pale at his words, and decided that getting dressed fast would be a good plan. She confusingly made her way through the wing until she met the staircase. Walking down she was face to face with Diego. "Morning bebe, hope you have a good day at work."

"Thank you, I'll be on my way." She left through the door in a hurry and jumped into Scott's car.

"Morning Calleigh, I hope you had a goodnight." She turned to glare at him.

"I'm telling Horatio about Esteban." She tells Scott.

"No, you're not. We've been through this. Saying something will cause harm to not only you, but me, and your friends as well. This is bigger than the both of us and a whisper Esteban hears"

"He will go after the team, and hurt everyone and anyone I hold dear. I know, I know. But this is getting too big and I don't want to be the one who goes behind people who support me. This isn't right, Horatio wouldn't want this to happen to anyone. I'm going to tell him.

"This has to stop now Scott. I can't allow for this to continue on. I took an oath and I plan on keeping it. I am going to tell Horatio today, no matter what you say Scott." She didn't leave his eyes for one syllable. This really has gone on for too long. She allowed herself to fall prey to Esteban and be swept into this plan that she had no reason to be part of.

Horatio watched as Calleigh walked up to his office door with a worried expression painted on her face. She hesitated before she knocked, something she hasn't done in years. "Come in" he says a little shocked at her sudden professionalism. Though it shouldn't be so surprising since she has distanced herself from the team as of late.

"Morning Calleigh." He decides to start off on a warming note. Her small smile told him that this was appropriate.

"Morning Horatio. I… um I have something to tell you. I-I-I have something to tell you. Something important." She stammers out, repeating the same phrase unconsciously. Horatio was immediately on edge, nothing rattled Calleigh to the point where she was nervous to tell him something.

"You know you can tell me anything Calleigh. I'm just glad that you came to me with whatever is bothering you." He gives her a genuine smile, and he sees he's boosted her confidence.

"I saw Esteban… Navarro. He was, jogging in my neighborhood." She couldn't meet his eyes.

"Jogging where Calleigh. I can't arrest him for jogging. He does have a marathon he's preparing for remember. Though I don't see why he has gone so far to run." He says, hoping that Calleigh would finally see why he and Eric were so hard on her about Navarro.

"He was jogging where Abigail was killed. He even turned on the block to where my house was. It's not evidence of him stalking me but, I realized that I've seen him a lot more than just this morning. I've seen him for the past month probably. i just thought you should know." She still wouldn't reach his eyes. Something is wrong.

"What are you not telling me Calleigh? There has to be more than this, you looked rattled. You don't get rattled easily." She started to fidget in her seat, just as small children would when they've been caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing.

"He's stopped in front of my house a couple of times and stared for five to ten minutes. I don't know what he wants but it's starting to get creepy."

Calleigh then turns to look at him, her eyes showing shame, tears, and fear. "It'll be alright Calleigh. I will talk to him."

"No! I mean, I don't want you to worry, the park where he jogs us known for its scenery. I'm pretty sure he just came across my house along the path." She sounds and looks panicked. Something definitely was wrong.

"Calleigh I will talk to him. Just hang tight, and we'll get this sorted out." he gets up, and is filled with more purpose. He swiftly grabs Eric and they are on their way to Navarro's place. Hope filled in both their eyes that Navarro will finally find his place in jail.

Calleigh reached Scott's car later that evening with a lighter heart. Yet her gut told her that something was not as right as she hoped things would turn out. "I warned you this morning Calleigh. I warned you."

She turned to see Scott walking towards her with a deep scowl on his face. "What makes you think I didn't think of your warning Scott?"

"You told Horatio that Esteban was jogging in your neighborhood, and stopping at your house for over a month. That is sure a way of saying you didn't take my warning seriously." Scott looked annoyed and without another word they got in the car and sped towards Coral Gables. The silence was unbearable and Calleigh could feel the tension growing as they neared the house. Scott took another turn away however, and they drove further away from the mansion.

With a grave look he dropped her off at a garage and Papi met up with her. Papi was mad. There was no other way to look at it. He stepped up to her and the next thing she knew she was on the ground, hand reaching out to her cheek. "We treat you kindly, and the way you return the favor is by lying about my son! You, you better be lucky he loves you because I would beat the shit out of you."

Calleigh looked up stunned, her cheek stung and his screaming made her frightened. He was red, his eyes little beads of anger. He dragged her by her forearms, ignoring her kicks and screams. She tried to fight him off but the anger made him even stronger.

He dragged her through what looked like heirlooms to a dark section of pipes. She was still trying to let her hands loose by the time they reached a dark dank room. Diego threw her down on the dirty ground and kneeled down.

"I'm pretty sure Esteban and I both warned you about what would happen if you said anything, no?" Diego asks and all Calleigh can do is nod silently. "So why did the lieutenant and his little bitch ask Esteban questions about his activities today?"

She remained silent.

"I asked, why did they interrogate Esteban?" his eyes were squinted and Calleigh looked past him to see Esteban looking at her, eyes so dark they were black.

"I guess you've decided that pleading the fifth would best suit you, but it'll make you suffer more." Diego gave her another slap across the same cheek and Calleigh was sent flying back down to the ground. She let out a strangled yell, once again grabbing her cheek.

This is the first time she's seen anyone so angry with her. The Navarro's wore the same faces, mirroring each other's anger and disgust. Esteban moved forward and whispered "Seeing as what you said wasn't the truth completely, I'll let you off with a warning. Tonight we're taking out the trash."

He led her to the center of the room. A woman lay unmoving on a cold slab, body riddled with injuries. Her kegs were covered in blood, every inch covered with slashes from a knife as well as bruises which turned her skin a purple hue. Higher up, Calleigh realized the girl was naked. Her womanhood was on display as if she were some trophy or toy in a shop. The woman's stomach was again covered in bruises and slash marks. Though welts joined right below the swell of her breasts.

Calleigh felt tears starting to fall at the state of the woman's breasts. They were sliced as if she were getting surgery and appeared as if her mammary glands have been removed. But what shocked Calleigh the most was the blood still pulsing, albeit slowly, out of the open wound.

"She's still alive?" Calleigh asks, her voice hitching at every word.

"Well yea, we still have to take her other eye." Diego answered as if he were ordering a slice of pie.

Esteban reached over and got out a knife. "Usually we use a more convenient tool, but today just for you we'll use this rusty, dull, broken knife I found underneath the cabinet last night."

Calleigh started to back away when Diego pulled her back and bear hugged her. By now, Calleigh began to kick and claw her way out of Diego's arms. He however want up to her doing that so he threw her to the side and brought a chair over. He picked her up and less than gently placed her inside.

He handcuffed her to the arms as well as tied her legs down. She began to scream loudly at the situation. "Please, I won't say anything, I swear. I just wanted to get away. I didn't tell him anything, I promise I didn't." Calleigh did not want to see what would be happening next.

"Should of thought of that before Calleigh." To hear Esteban call her full name scared her. Especially in that tone. It sounded like liquid venom. Something you'd expect a snake to sound like. Something you could imagine Jack the Ripper to sound like.

Calleigh shut her eyes closed as Esteban dug the blade into the woman's eye. The woman screamed out and Calleigh felt her blood run cold. Even a deaf person could hear the sound of metal and bone meeting over and over and over and over. Calleigh felt like throwing up,

Diego decided that this must have been funny because he was laughing his heart out. "We've had for how long mijo. Three weeks?"

"Si Papi, about three weeks, she really had spunk didn't she. Actually she's my new favorite. Leigh check it out." Calleigh didn't hear any more screaming, or the sound of any other thing but water. She opened her eyes slowly to be met with a jar full of eyeballs.

She sat silent looking at the jar. There had to be over fifty of them inside the jar. That was way too many. "These are just the left eyes from last month. Calleigh began to breathe hard. Last month, over fifty in a month? This was worse than anyone could've have guessed.

Diego however felt that the woman needed more hurt and decided to wail punch after punch into the woman's ribcage. After a crack and the sound of her last breath was heard, Diego finally decided it was enough.

"Clean her up mijo." Diego says once again speaking as if asking his son to get him a glass of water.

Diego left with a warning glare in her direction.

"Come on Calleigh lets clean this up." Esteban sets her restraints free and Calleigh looks on to the scene in front of her.

The minute she walked into Horatio's office this morning, she was doomed.


	21. Consequence Pt 2

AN: Rape is a crime, actually a felon here in the US (As well as everywhere else). You've been warned. Albeit in a very retarded way. But anyway rape is mentioned and detailed in this chapter.

"I don't think it's necessary for me to be here Esteban." Calleigh states in a matter of fact way. Voice projecting the confidence she didn't feel.

"Oh Leigh I'm sure you do. We warned you countless times not to say anything, you chose not to listen." Esteban gave her a long hard stare. The anger in his eyes was very apparent and Calleigh had to take a deep breath in order to keep from losing it.

"But, I-I-I didn't tell him the truth. I-I lied." She hated how shaky her voice was. Esteban smirked and took a step towards her. So she took a step back.

"Yea but it was a half-truth in a way. And five hours of my life was wasted. I could've been attending to patients, or thinking of something for us to do together later. But now we're here discarding the toy that wasn't supposed to be gone for another three or four days.

"And now I have to make sure you know whose boss. I really wanted our first time intimately joined together to be more romantic, but this'll do." He steps up to her and reaches for her shirt.

Calleigh's eyes raise at this. He is NOT going to touch her. "Esteban, I will do worse than tell a lie if you touch me." She threatens, knowing that it was empty.

He laughs and pushes her buttons through her shirt. And while she doesn't want to, Calleigh freezes. _Fight back fight back fight back fight back._

She chants those two words over and over again. There was no way she wanted his hands anywhere near her body, but she couldn't find any strength to push him off.

He brings his head down to her neck and she feels cool air from where he took a breath. "If you know what's best for you, you won't say not one more word from this point. I love you Leigh, you know I do. But you need to learn who's in charge." His hands slide the shirt off of her torso, down her arms and hits the floor without a sound.

His groan was met with her hips touching the table she thought was further back. He hoists her onto the table and she reaches her hand back to steady herself. Big mistake.

Her hand was met with the thigh of the dead woman on the table. _FIGHT BACK FIGHT BACK FIGHT BACK!_

Esteban's eyes go feral and Calleigh jumps off the table with only one thought, to get out of the room as quickly as possible. She hears his cursing and makes the mistake of looking back.

The feral look grew stronger, and soon his pupils dilated to the point of swallowing the irises whole. She froze again. Never before has she seen a look come from a person before.

Clavo Cruz, Ivan Sarnoff, Ron Saris, and Hank Kerner combined could never even pull off the look. The combined men wouldn't even match a fourth of what Esteban looked like. His eyes were that of a demon, and Calleigh was certain she was face to face with the devil himself.

She's speechless as he picks her up, speechless as he throws her on top of the woman. Her voice taken away when he rips her bra off of her body. Breathless to the feel of his hands on her breast, squeezing and pulling them to soreness.

Motionless as he unbuttons her slacks, zips them down. Still as he removes them along with her underwear in one swift motion. The only sound she hears is his voice, parading her on keeping such a healthy body.

He flips her over and enter s her in one thrust. She's silent even with the large amount of pain she tries to block out. Even as she blocks out the pain, she can still feel his heat on top of her and the feel of the cold body beneath her, rubbing her abs.

Calleigh can feel the dry blood on her stomach and the feel of the woman's body being moved with the force of Esteban's thrusts. The woman's stomach pressed against her own, Calleigh can feel their skin rubbing against each other.

Calleigh feels nauseous and vomits over the woman, further desecrating the body. Not one tear falls however. She couldn't cry, not for herself, not for Abigail, not for the nameless woman she's being raped on. Not for any other woman that had to go through the torture.

She feels disgusting, and dirty. A shower was so far away from her right now, she doubts she'll be able to take one until the body was disposed of.

She can hear him telling her that she belongs to him. That from now on, he was in charge of every decision concerning her. That she was under the control of the Navarro family. That she will be happy with him and his family alone.

"Say it Leigh, say it. You belong to me. Say it" he accents each word with a thrust and Calleigh wants the torture to end.

She stays silent and the stinging of his hand striking her backside multiple times have her crying out.

"I'm yours Esteban. I belong to you." She resigns

She feels him expand and explode inside her. The warmth flowing slowly through her body as if reminding her of what just happened.

"Good girl Leigh, good girl." He rubs her back in a calming matter and Calleigh takes this as a sign that she can move.

He does the work for her and sits her up. "You're okay Leigh, you'll be fine." His eyes returned back to the normal dark chocolate. They were soft and gentle, telling the opposite to what they were earlier. Even betraying his actions seconds ago.

He takes his shirt off and pulls t over her head and arms. He stands her up and has to catch her due t her legs feeling like lead. She looks down at the ground, embarrassed at her weakness. She feels like shit, hopeless and used.

He picks her up and carries her out of the secret room, through the display of family heirlooms and to the front if the warehouse where Diego sat just getting off the phone call.

"I see you've dealt with her firmly mijo?" Diego asks reaching his arms out.

"Si Papi, I did. She took it like a champ, and we can assume that she won't say anything else." He hands her to Diego and Calleigh whimpers at the movement.

"Is that right bebe?" he looks down at her and she hides her head in the crook of his neck like a toddler would. "I take that as a yes. Hurry and get rid of the girl, bebe will e with me tonight."

That's the last thing she hears before being put in the back of the car. Choosing that sleep was a good idea right now.

She wakes up as the shirt is pulled over her head. She panics and Diego's voice telling her to calm down calms her down little. She tries to cover herself as much as possible.

"There is no need for that bebe, I'm giving you a bath." Still she remains covering herself and he sets her down in a tub gently. "I'm not going to hurt you bebe. No one wants you to be hurt, come on I have to give you a bath. I'm pretty sure you want one." He looks at her with a tilt of his eyebrow and she acquiesced.

"You should know something. The reason why you always get called by Scott." Diego starts out. Calleigh looks up into his eyes, curiosity for the moment barley shadowing the pain.

"You're an easy target. For years we, the crime industry, try to think of ways to bring down Horatio and his precious little team. And it's weird because we all agree on one thing. To get to you first. It's obvious that you're the glue that holds the team together. Yet Caine acts as if you're a second rate citizen, only calling you when you're 'needed'" he adds with a hint of distaste.

He soaps her up and washes her off. She looks down to see blood wash down the drain, blood from the woman lying on the table. He throws the rag away only to pick up a new one and washes her body over again. Calleigh again feels used but lets him do it anyway. Feeling as if she's dug herself this deep already.

She winces as he reaches her center. "Sorry" comes a sincere sounding apology.

"Anyway, the resentment, anger, disappointment and what not started to reach the point where Stetler could pick up non it. Now we had more to go on. Realizing that you'd be able to come to our side a lot easier than anyone else on the team.

"Hell even last year, you were nowhere to be seen by any of us. Scott told us all about you being put into the background the entire year. Well now each hand every one of us were racing to come up with a plan to get to you first. You're a powerful enemy, and we wanted you on our side.

Good thing Esteban grew attached to you, at first he found you fascinated and wanted to dissect you. But seeing you in person must've changed things up. You'll be happier with us than with them." He grabs shampoo and begins to wash her hair.

"Who's us? You keep mentioning it." She asks quietly, afraid she's speaking out of term.

"Oh, like I've mentioned earlier, the crime industry. But I suppose you want the specifics. 'Us' is all the major crime families in Miami. The Russians, and the Mala Noches for an example." Calleigh's eyes open. _Organized crime is a lot more organized than we…they previously thought._

"Yea, they're going to make another appearance, don't worry they know not to touch you. Working in such a high position has its perks Calleigh. Your Captain knows everything that's going on, known for years actually."

Calleigh's gasp was met with a laugh from Diego. _The Captain? Was this what Scott meant by "higher than my head"? What did she get herself into?_

"Yea bebe, money and power are amazing motivators. But continuing, you are the final puzzle piece. Even if Caine isn't taken down, his power will be stripped down and we can continue with our business. Now we don't have to take lengthy cuts to avoid him, we can openly secretly do it.

"That's a relief don't you think? Don't worry, as they sink, you'll be perfectly fine." He scoops her up in a towel and dresses her in just a big t-shirt. He brushes her hair back until its damp enough for her not to get sick.

"Why are you telling me this?" asking nervously, she still doesn't know if asking questions is appropriate.

"Because you have a right to know the basics of the rest of your life. You can still go to work, because we know how attached you are. But everyone should know what's going on, no matter how small they are. Lucky for you, Esteban and I are high up in this caste system, high enough for you to be past comfortable.

"Now go to sleep, taking a day off from work after a vacation is going to draw attention". Calleigh stops and surveys her surroundings, they're in Diego's room underneath the covers. She was listening so intently to what he was asking that she didn't realize any of this happening.

He throws his arm around her in a protective manner and Calleigh finds herself finally catching up to everything.

She really did bring this onto herself. If she hadn't made her emotions so apparent than Stetler wouldn't have been able to single her out as the weakest on the team. This was way over her head. She wishes she could be home safe. Hell even at Eric's safe in his arms. Instead she finds shelter in the arms of a dangerous criminal who literally couldn't be touched.

She literally is becoming the people she hates. And by conclusion she hates herself.

Hates herself for exposing herself so easily

Hates herself for allowing Scott to get inside her head.

Hates herself for ever doubting Horatio and Eric.

Hates herself for pushing everyone good away from her.

Hates herself for falling prey to Esteban.

Hates herself for not saying anything during her vacation in a twisted sense of pride.

And hates herself for seeking more comfort from Papi as she silently lets tears fall from her eyes.


	22. Invincibility

Hey look a chapter! I'm moving to New York, all the way from South Florida so I've been ridiculously busy for like a month. Here you go though.

Natalia walked out for the parking garage like a woman on a mission. Today will be the day she finds out at least one thing Calleigh is keeping hidden from the whole team. Calleigh has been acting out of character for too long. Ever since her friend had been murdered to be exact, but that was almost a month ago, she surely would be able to handle her emotions by now.

Heading towards the lab a sight has Natalia halting immediately. Calleigh and O'Shay were locked in what seemed as a comforting embrace.

"If you need anything today, just tell me okay? Call me, page me, or even come to my office. Just come over, In fact let's meet for lunch." She hears him say. Calleigh however doesn't offer a verbal or physical affirmation.

O'Shay grabs Calleigh's chin and lifts the blonde's head up "Okay?" he asks.

"Okay, we'll meet for lunch." She answers weakly.

Natalia walks back up the stairs as to not give off her position and waits to see them walk off toward CSI.

After waiting a couple minutes, Natalia ruses off to the locker room in a fighting stance. She however stops when she sees Calleigh sitting on a bench, head hung in utter defeat. Never before has Natalia seen her look so grave

Eric heads into the locker after seeing Natalia head in like a mad woman. He sees her stopped looking deeper into the locker room, head tilted in disbelief. He steps close into the room when he spots just what Natalia is looking at.

Calleigh looked worn down, and defeated. Like she's given up all hope on life. He's only seen her like this once, and that was after john killed himself. _What the hell happened to her?_

Tapping Natalia's shoulder, he pulls her out and into a more secluded corner of the lab. As secluded as anyone can get worth all glass walls. "What is going on Eric?" Natalia asks.

"Yesterday she told Horatio about Esteban being in her neighborhood, but she was being shady about it and we think something might be happening." He rushes in one full breath. Natalia's eyes widened and she looked as if things suddenly clicked. "What?" he prods, wanting to get in on the action.

"I just saw O'Shay comforting Calleigh in the parking lot not five minutes ago. Maybe these events are connected. They're going to have lunch together, maybe we can get something from her when she goes"

Eric nods his head that would be smart. But the way Calleigh's been acting lately, getting her to concede would be trouble. She looked like she would fight tooth and nail against anyone who crossed her way. "We can try Natalia, but I don't think she'd do it willingly." He says lamely.

They both head into the locker room, making as little noise as possible as not to alarm her, but loud enough as not to alarm her.

"Calleigh?" Eric whispers softly. She remains unmoving. "Calleigh."

Nothing happens until Eric lays his hand on her shoulder. She jumps and looks at him, eyes wide with fright. "Calleigh what' wrong?" this was definitely not like Calleigh.

She stares at him for a while before turning her head to Natalia. "Nothing, I was just thinking." Eric and Natalia stare her down, waiting for more of an appropriate answer.

"Okay, I had a long night last night, Kevin's been up running around and hissing at things. So sorry if I'm so jumpy." Her explanation was good enough for Eric at the moment. Kevin used to do that all the time when he and Calleigh were still seeing each other.

Though Eric could pick up on her tension that sure had nothing to do with Kevin being frisky. Their phones was enough to grab the attention from all the CSI's in the room. Well looks like a callout saved Calleigh from this pseudo-interrogation.

Horatio was getting tired of this. Tired of missing women being found bloody and beaten. This one was different however, as this girl seemed to have been washed for being dumped. She lay nude in the field, surrounded by trees and brush not very deep ito the Everglades.

It was obvious that no secrecy y was given for this dump.

It was message, and Horatio will make sure to answer the message.

The tam show up and for a second Horatio is proud. Walter and Ryan are playfully arguing with each other, yet remaining professional in a way Horatio can only call professional. Natalia and Eric held strong, eyes looking around in a sort of rushed ace, which causes Horatio to go on guard.

Calleigh came into view behind them and Horatio wasn't blind to her current state. She was disheveled. Her hair and clothes were fine, but the slump of her shoulders and the somber look on her face gave off her disheveled state.

Hopefully Navarro wasn't found his way to her, because right now she seemed highly disturbed. One look at Eric and Horatio knew something was u.

"Horatio, you're not going to like this." Came tom's voice.

Horatio turned and prepared himself for bad news.

"This woman is missing her eyes, and by the state of her body I'd say she was another Taunter victim." Tom's face was dark.

"I'll agree with you on this, but it looks like we won't get much off of her does it?" Eric adds in, obviously thinking ahead of the game.

Calleigh stops in her tracks and stares the woman down. Her face turns down even ore and she detaches herself completely from the scene. "You okay ma'am?" Horatio asks, knowing he won't receive a straight answers.

"I'm good Caine, in good." This whole professional talk from her is going to take time for him to get used to.

With a curt nod, he lets his team get to work.

Calleigh sat across from Scott in his office. They were eating lunch together just as he requested. She favored this more than Natalia's slack attempt at them getting lunch together instead. The quiet was just what she needed. As well as the comfort of having someone who knew what was happening try and comfort her. The whole team was all over her this morning and Calleigh reminds herself to block them off more.

Her body was sore, everywhere creaked and ached as she moved. Every step would vibrate pain to her most intimate parts and her breasts were sensitive, causing every breath to feel like a stab. Her lower back and hips were pulsing with her heartbeat and she was sure there were bruises accompanying the pain.

Scott looks over to make sure that she's eating. And she takes a big bite of her sandwich to point out that she was. He goes back to typing away on his keyboard while she goes back to her thoughts.

That woman dumped earlier today was the same woman from last night. While the others were confused she knew exactly why the body had been washed. She threw up on the woman when Esteban had…last night. Her intake of breath was enough to alert O'Shay.

"You okay Calleigh?" he asks, concern laced in his voice. Whether or not the concern was real, Calleigh still was obliged to answer him.

"I'm in constant pain, but other than that I'm okay. As okay as I can be I guess." She adds with a taste of bitterness.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to open her mouth and talk. So if I were you I would just tune down a little it while we patch up your booboo." Scott teased. While he can be comforting to be around, he was still a smartass.

She turns in time to see the chief closing the door to the office. "Hello there Calleigh, I heard you got yourself into a little rut."

"Uh yea, I guess I did." She states in a small voice. To know that the chief was in on this little overthrow made Calleigh question just how far up the corruption went. The chief sashayed over to her and ran a calming hand through her hair.

"No worries okay bebe. You'll be fine, as long as you keep your mouth stays shut. It would be a shame if you lose your invincibility card so soon. This operation took year to plan, and years to operate, trust me if you make yourself expendable, you will become expendable."

She looks him in the eyes, she was invincible? Maybe that should be comforting, but if the Navarro's were protecting her from any crime related harm, then who was protecting her from the Navarro's?

"I'm not going to say anything more Collins…"

"Calleigh, right now we are all on first name basis, so please call me Michael." He smiles before dropping a chaste kiss to her forehead. Getting up he sends a look Scott's way and he leaves without another word.

"He likes you, you're lucky, the chief hates everyone." Scott says with a smile on his face.

"I guess that's good news for me then. One thing has gone right in my entire day. Hopefully it will last the entire day." Her sarcasm was met with laughter.

"It will. Esteban got put on police surveillance. So you're free until it's been lifted." She looks over to Scott with happiness in her eyes. With Esteban o surveillance she could finally go to her house. Finally spend a few nights by herself! This was amazing.

"But you won't be going to your house, so you can get sad again." Her face drops.

"Whose house am I going to, it's not like I can go home. They're going to be squad cars around the neighborhood. It won't look good if I came out of the Navarro residence at such an early time."

"That's my next point, you'll be coming home with me."


	23. Too Late

Eric threw his pen down in frustration, catching attention from the whole team in layout.. Since early this morning the team has been trying to figure out why the latest Taunter victim had been bathed before being dumped. Maybe Navarro as switching MO for whatever reason.

Or maybe he had to cover up a mistake. The possibilities were endless right now. But at least Horatio pulled off surveillance on Navarro for at least a week.

"Hey Delko, do you have anything on anything." They turn to look at Calleigh standing at the door frame. She was more relaxed then this morning Eric realizes. Maybe her lunch with O'Shay did the job. He and Natalia were hoping that she would have lunch them so they could talk.

Instead Calleigh declined and Eric found himself sitting with the team at in the break room discussing what was going on.

"No Calleigh, not one thing. The woman was drenched in a standard cleaning hydrogen solution, one you can buy at any shop. Loos like Esteban made a mistake and was trying to clean it up." Eric doesn't miss the almost undetectable hitch in her throat.

"Yea, that seems smart of 'him'. So was there any evidence at all? Because I have nothing with the evidence I've been given." She looks around the room in a control panic. _What the hell was going with her?_

"No Calleigh we got nothing, did O'Shay say something while you guys were at lunch." Came Natalia's curt response. Looking over Eric could see how mad Natalia was, this was going to end badly.

"No Boa Vista, not really. Just that Horatio had Esteban Navarro put on surveillance. Other than that I just sat in his office and ate…lunch. Why are you suddenly so interested in my life?" Calleigh was so cod. Never before had Eric witnessed this, maybe some of it while interrogating suspects, but never to this degree.

"Will you stop it? One day you're calling me Natalia next it's my last name, what happened during your vacation that turned you into such a bitch?" Calleigh jumped out of her skin. It was obvious that she was deeply hurt by Natalia. Calleigh chose to remain calm however, and the air went still.

"I caused one of my closest friends to be killed, brutally. There wasn't an open casket, wasn't anyway for any of her family to see her one last time. Just a picture of her smiling face behind her remains. That was it. When her family asked what happened I chose to say her face had been disfigured.

"Can you believe that? It was more than her face. Her whole body had been mutilated and strewn across as if they were toys. Did you think I could tell her mother that? Or the fact that she was coming to my place the night she was attacked. I was asleep when she called. It's my fault why she's buried six feet underground, without her entire body. I'm the reason why she can never find any happiness in her life.

"I was the one that destroyed her. I might not have killed her, but there is no way I don't have her blood on my hands.

"So excuse me if I'm distancing myself from you guys, I just don't want to feel the pain of losing one of you guys." She finishes with a dry sob.

Not one tear was in her eyes and Eric knows that no matter what happens from this point on, they will never have their Calleigh back. While she was trying no to lose them, she'd lost herself instead.

"Calleigh we just want to help." Came Ryan out of nowhere. His face and tone showed the genuine concern his words held.

Getting up Calleigh turned towards the doors, in the same cold demeanor she held not even five minutes ago she looked at them all.

"I don't need any help from any of you not anymore. So just leave me alone. If it isn't strictly business, I suggest you guys leave me be." Her voice was mechanical, lifeless, and soulless. She takes another look around the room, stopping to look right into Eric's eyes.

They tear up and Eric knows that it was extremely painful for her to say that, and now Eric felt like a dick.

"At least we know what went down during her vacation" Walter added lamely. And the team looked at each other in silence.

AN: This chapter is short by my usual standards but my laptop is fizzing out and before it completely dies, I'm uploading the first half of this chapter. Let me know what you guys think and the second half should be up later tonight!


	24. Yea, It's Bad Pt 1

The room was eerily silent after Calleigh left through the doors. Natalia watched as Calleigh made her down the hall going to the Ballistics lab. She was fuming, yet somehow she could understand. Calleigh was just blocking them out for her own good.

But then again, Calleigh knows that the team will always be there. They stuck together through thick and thin, no matter what happened, they always had each other's back. For Calleigh to be so destroyed, something even worse than her friend's murder.

Even when Nick was killed, Natalia chose to back away from everyone. But the team helped her get over his death. Even if it was just her, Eric, Ryan, and Horatio. No matter the size and range of the team, everyone got equal attention.

Everyone knows that Calleigh is Horatio's favorite, and he always will have a special place in her heart. It was obvious in the way Horatio protected her. Even when Jesse died, Horatio tended to Calleigh first. But it seems as if Calleigh has taken such a privilege for granted and pushed him away.

Looking around, Natalia was met with blank stares from the rest of the team. Walter and Sam looked as if they wanted to say something, but didn't have the right to. Ryan obviously wanted to chase Calleigh down, his wide eyed expression was enough to tell Natalia that everything that could go wrong was going wrong.

Eric is a whole other story.

He looked utterly torn, like everything he held dear to him was taken away. Things might as well have been taken, seeing as the only person Eric found true happiness with just dropped him from existence. Whatever happened between him and Calleigh must've been really bad.

Eight hours and three months' worth of evidence later Natalia and the team head toward the locker room, and come to a complete stop. Calleigh sat by herself on one of the benches. Her head stayed bowed and her shoulders humped over, she looked defeated.

Eric stepped up slowly to her and leaned on one knee. "Calleigh, you okay querida"? Four words, four words was all it took for Calleigh to actually admit weakness.

"No I'm not" was all she said before gathering her things and pushing her way through. Natalia could've sworn tears were falling down her eyes when she blew past.

"That's not good" Walter said.

"No Walter it's not." Eric replied.

AN: Hella short chapter but I'm going to post the rest maybe later tonight or tomorrow morning.


	25. Yea It's Bad Pt2

Esteban lay on his bed bone deep bored. Usually he'd bother Leigh but seeing as she wasn't here… anyway last night was a milestone for her. Yea he had to force his dominance on her, but she had to learn who was in charge. She belongs to him and no one else.

He was relieved when talking to her earlier on the phone. She was upset over not being able to go to her house just yet. O'Shay was nice enough to let her talk for extra minutes and he found out about the surveillance put out on him by Caine.

_How childish, _Esteban thought as the time ticked by. Caine really needed to get another hobby besides bothering him. This surveillance is a perfect time to rid himself of troublesome people.

Rolling over, Esteban buries his head into Leigh's pillow, inhaling her scent. Her favorite nightgown found a home beneath her pillow. He fingers the soft fabric and determines that whenever the surveillance on him was lifted, she would be in this nightgown.

Hugging the pillow into his chest and the nightgown in his hand, Esteban goes to sleep. Plans already forming in his head on how to deal with Caine.

Calleigh tossed and turned in the bed provided to her. Scott was ever so generous when allowing her to stay at his house. It wasn't so much "allowing" as it was having no choice but to let her in. but Scott took it in stride, with barely a groan or grumble of discontent.

But here she was at…2:39am tossing and turning because sleep was nonexistent. Thinking back Calleigh realized it's been practically a month since she's slept by herself (whether or not she was aware). Esteban had practically spent every night with her, so she must've gotten used to his presence.

Memories of last night began to swamp her and immediately Calleigh felt her chest starting to tighten. The feel of his hands on her body, the feel of his thrusts against her unwilling body, and above all, the feel of the body beneath her as Esteban dominated her. it was enough to have her reaching for the inhaler.

Scott just got off the phone with an angry Diego Navarro. Things weren't so great with that family right now, and Scott wanted to stay away from them as long as possible. Unlike Calleigh, Scott didn't have immunity, unlike Calleigh, Scott could be killed.

It annoyed him that for over 20 years he's been working for this hive of crime, yet he's only gone as far as above grunt. It took a decade for Stetler to reach higher up, and here Scott was still doing the dirty work.

Then Calleigh's name started to appear every meeting he was allowed to go to. These meetings were where Scott discovered that she had immunity. No one could touch her, Esteban only got through due to his family's much needed donations.

Still Scott found her immunity to be irritating, he couldn't touch her. Even tonight, one wrong move and he's as good as dead. So making sure she had everything, Scott went to pleasing her. Now at 2:41am, Scott is still up contemplating whether or not to just kill himself.

A lousy 20 minutes later, Scott heard soft footfalls and then his door slowly creak open. A few more footfalls after that came a small and soft voice. "Can I sleep with you?" she sounds like a small child. "What?" he turned to look at her.

She had her inhaler clutched tightly in her hands, her chest taking short breaths. Her face was full of fright, not even an ounce of strength left in her eyes. She did look pretty pathetic.

"I guess I got used to having someone by me every night, and I'm too worried to go to sleep. So obviously with you being the only other soul in this house… can I sleep with you?" She looks so helpless. Maybe he could spare his feelings regarding her for now. Because quite frankly any complaint from her is the equivalent of a mag full of bullets in his chest.

"Sure, just no word of this to anyone got that?" he gave her a pointed look, half teasing himself and half serious. She hops in with too much enthusiasm and snuggles right into his chest. It was a calming gesture from her part, seeing as no one has ever come to for comfort.

It felt really nice to have someone depend on him for comfort and Scott found himself wrapping his arms around Calleigh. When she snuggles into him further he rubs a hand up and down her back. Her breath turned even after a while and Scott found himself following suit in sleep afterwards.


	26. In a Positive Light

OMG an update! I finally got done with the mountains of homework and studying out of the way. Everything was deleted from my computer so I had to start fresh, so this might be a bit off but oh well, gotta work with what I have for now seeing as my written work was left at home by accident.

The first thing Calleigh hears in the morning is a woman's soft voice dotted with a Cuban accent. At first Eric's mother came into mind, but that was impossible so she slowly opens her eyes.

"Buenos Dias bebe" the woman says. "Morning" Calleigh groggily replies back, earning a smile from the woman. "How rude of me to wake you up and not introduce myself, I am Esteban's grandmother Vina. I've heard great things about you."

Calleigh sits up and rubs her eyes. There was another Navarro?

Esteban looked outside his car window to see Boa Vista and Leigh watching his every move. The situation was completely hilarious. It's like Caine couldn't believe that he wasn't a psychopath. A sociopath yes, but psychopath is a bit too far. Esteban can control his actions, it's not impulsive to kill people, it's fun.

But still it angers him to know that Leigh is going to be away from him at least for one more night. "Poor bebe" he says out loud. At least Abuela will keep her company tonight.

Natalia looked over at Calleigh who was busy staring at Esteban's car. Nat was happy to find out she got to tail him, up upon learning that Calleigh would accompany her. Something's going on with that girl and Nat was going to find out what. But every attempt at a conversation was squashed by one look from Calleigh.

"This is pointless" Natalia sighed, immediately rolling her eyes when Calleigh nods in agreement. "That's all I'm going to get from you I take it?"

Calleigh turns and in the coldest voice Natalia has ever heard replies "Yea, I don't feel like talking. Especially to you."

Natalia was hit with the worst pain. It was the pain of losing someone so close to you and not knowing the reason. Blinking away tears Natalia struggles to keep her voice steady "If that's how you feel, then we won't speak unless we have to."

"We can still talk." Calleigh interjects, "but I just don't want you getting hurt."

Confusion begins to form in Nat's head "Why would I get hurt?"

And for the first time in days, Calleigh looks dead into her eyes. For the first time ever Calleigh shows the emotional turmoil through her eyes. It was the look of anguish, pain, hurt. The same look Nat had when she was with nick. "Because I always get people hurt" was the last thing Calleigh said for the next four hours of their shift.

At the end of an uneventful day Calleigh meets up with Scott, right in plain view of the rest of the team. Scott felt a swell of pride for what was unfolding before him, an obvious rift was beginning to widen between Leigh and Caine's team. It felt nice to be part of something so beautiful. It brought tears to his eyes.

When Caine rolled up behind the team as he and Calleigh stepped into his car had Scott waving gleefully at them. This is more than beautiful, it was gorgeous. His phone brought him out of his reverie. Esteban was calling.

"Hello?"

"Yea Scott it's me. So everything is going swimmingly despite this little bump in the road. Just drop Leigh at her house, Abuela said she's going to stay with her tonight."

"You sure?"…" yea I got it Esteban just drop her off." damn his day was ruined, it was fun having Calleigh around. Turning he could see her curious face staring him down. "You're going to your house." Came his simple response. And he could see her face light up slightly.

"Really? I get to go to my house? It's been so long since I've seen that place. Oooo I wonder how Kevin's been. Every time I ask Esteban said it's better to just leave my 'past behind'" she shakes her head.

She all but runs into her house after he drops her off and he could tell she was more than excited to be a place. Yea she's fun to have around.

Calleigh was so happy to be dropped home. Whoa that was weird sounding, to call this place her home after spending practically a month at her home with Esteban. Shaking off the feeling of sudden sadness, Calleigh begins her checklist.

"Kevin!" running through her house she finds the kitten sitting on her side of the bed cuddled into himself. When she sits up he wakes, stretches and jumps into her arms. "Hey buddy! How have you been? This is what, our third time seeing each other since…?" Kevin purrs into her chest.

She feels her chest tighten and wills herself not to cry. Kevin digging into her causes more pain to bubble up and she feels the tears escape. Her chest continues to tighten and the familiar feelings of a panic attack were beginning to happen.

"Shhh bebe no crying, you're fine." Came a familiar voice. Turning Calleigh sees Abuela walking towards her. Of course she really wouldn't have an actual night to herself.

"Why are you crying bebe?" came the soft voice.

"I just miss my place I guess. I guess I was home sick." Came her short reply.

Abuela looks dead in her eyes, the seriousness evident in her gaze. "You have a new home now. Don't worry about this place, we've got you covered. When this all blows over you can bring…"

"Kevin." Calleigh interrupts..

"Si bebe, you can bring Kevin. Look, what you're going through is normal but we can bring you more happiness than you've ever experienced. We love you, I'm sure you know that by now."

"How could you love me, you only met me this morning?" Calleigh questions.

"Through what Esteban, Diego, and Scott have told me. And background knowledge of course, I can tell that I will love you. So relax, just think of this as a vacation home."

Calleigh wipes away the stray tears and moves into Abuela's chest. She decides to look at it in a positive light. Maybe her house could be a vacation home. Yea, that was a good way of looking at things right now. Kevin would come home with her soon enough. Everything will fall into place, and as long as Esteban was occupied with her, less girls would be hurt.

She couldn't stop him entirely but at least she's slowing him down. The team would never understand what she was going through and they could never find out. Staying away from them is keeping them safe. Even if it hurt them, at least they were safe.

Yet that nagging feeling of eminent doom was drawing on her so she digs deeper into Abuela hoping that the warm, familiar caress of fingers running through her hair would cause comfort. Maybe everything happening is a good thing for her. She was so used to having to care for people that it's nice to have other people do it for her.

Yea, this really is nice, not having to be so uncertain about her future. Her future was with the Navarro's now. Whether she had wanted it or not. Now she has to do everything she could do to keep it this way because something told her if she pissed off this woman, she'd have hell to pay.


	27. Dirty

Caine was mad, he was way passed mad, he was infuriated. They had just become Esteban's perfect alibi. There was no way in hell Esteban wasn't a part of this, he had to have stuck his psycho fingers somewhere. Now there was another dead girl at the hands of Navarro and no way for Caine to prove it.

The whole team was worried all except one, all except Calleigh. She out of everyone looked relieved that this girl was found murdered on watch. She stuck out in all of the faces purely because her whole body relaxed. Almost as if she was relieved this girl was found.

Her behavior has been off ever since she came back from her "vacation". And when that woman who was found days ago popped up, Calleigh looked scared. She could barely collect evidence she was so distracted. But no one dared to say anything to her because maybe this case was her boiling point as a CSI. But the look of relief on her face was enough to tell Caine that Calleigh had experienced something more than a mental breakdown on her vacation.

Making his way down to the ballistics lab he was stopped short by a voice.

"You'll be fine, everything is almost over. Caine grimaced, it was O'Shay.

"Yea, I realized that this morning. I just want to go home. I'm getting tired of all this." Came Calleigh's reply.

"It's almost over."

"What's almost over?" Horatio decided to interject before things got out of hand. Calleigh visibly jumped upon hearing his voice, not a good sign. "Nothing, nothing's _over_" came her quick snarky return. It stung Caine a bit to hear her so cold.

"Watch yourself Calleigh" O'Shay snapped and Calleigh looked down in childlike guilt.

"Since when did you take orders from O'Shay? That doesn't matter right now, I need you in my office. Now." Caine wasn't lost to Calleigh's eye roll and willed himself to keep walking before he did something that he would regret.

He opened his eyes when he heard his office door close. Before she could have a chance to sit down, he jumped her. "What do you know Ms. Duquesne?"

"I think it was bad for you to mess with the Navarro's. They might just be a bit too powerful for you to take on." She is confident in her response and not a shred of doubt was evident in her eyes.

"You seem pretty sure of this, and I'm going to ask again. What… do…you…know?" he looked her straight on and she stares back with equal strength.

"Nothing more than you do Caine." Her answer was cold and cut to the chase. Something definitely was wrong. "Are you speaking from experience Calleigh?"

"No, but I've seen this happen to you before. With the Mala Noche. They're still not squashed and it's been six years. You can quiet them down, but you can't stop them." Her answer stung at his eyes and Marisol popped into mind before he was able to push her away. Calleigh knows that her words are strong and she's saying them anyway.

"If I can quiet down the Navarro's down, then maybe I can slow down the killings, like I did with the Mala Noche. It's obvious you're not going to say anything useful, but just remember Calleigh. We're your family. And when everything falls down, we're the ones you're going to be crawling back to. So don't shut us out. We're here to help…I'm here to help you." His voice too on a passionate tone, but Calleigh just scoffed and rolled her eyes again.

"I don't need any of you guys anymore. Just drop this. I don't know anything so I can't give you anything. If that is all, I have evidence to look over."

"And O'Shay to talk to?" he knew that he was being childish but he couldn't help himself. No one ever got away with talking to him like that. He had a soft spot for Calleigh but now even that was starting to wear thin. She overstepped her bounds and now she's going to have to pay the price. She just lost his respect and it was going to be hard for her to get it back.

She was talking to O'Shay about something important. There was no other explanation, but he knew that it had something to do with Esteban Navarro. Whatever was happening was happening under his nose and Caine did not like that.

Esteban may have gotten to Calleigh over her vacation time. That was the only way he could see her falling for whatever lies Esteban told her. Calleigh was a smart girl and she knew what she got herself into.

Esteban does jog by her house every day, it would've been easy for him to worm his way into Calleigh's home then her head. That's the only thing Caine could come up with. Calleigh would never let someone, let alone a serial killer worm his way into her head on the drop of a hat. Esteban had to have something over her. But what?

The only thing that happened before her vacation was the murder of her friend. Calleigh was visibly upset when Natalia identified the girl. What if it was Esteban who killed Abigail?

That was it. Calleigh must've been guilt tripped by Esteban, with him using Abigail as an example. What of Abigail's murder wasn't random at all, Esteban could've planned to kill this girl from day one? There are too many variables to come up with a reasonable theory.

But still, it was disheartening to know Esteban reached Calleigh right under Caine's nose. Caleigh could've come to him, she knows that. But instead she's blocking out the team "Because I always get people hurt" was exactly what she told Natalia. Did Calleigh feel like she was protecting the team by putting herself in danger?

She does think that way, it is entirely possible that she is protecting them from whatever Esteban has planned. If that was the case then it made sense as to why she's pulling away from everyone. Because if one of them do get hurt, it would be her fault, at least that's what she'd think.

But where does O'Shay fit into all of this. Maybe he's acting as a middle man, getting information to leak to Esteban. Surely the Navarro's are smarter than that. Just one informant working in the office.

O'Shay does handle the money, and the Navarro's do donate a lot of that to MDPD, maybe they offer O'Shay a little more for information. Still, that would be easy to recognize, and if O'Shay is high in stature in MDPD then other have to be acting as informants. People higher and people lower than O'Shay.

If that was the case then the whole of MDPD could be crawling with holes. The whole MDPD could be compromised. MDPD could be dirty.


	28. Crime Con

"Esteban must've set this whole thing up. There's no way in hell the bodyguard didn't know who Michael Galliver was." Came Walter's booming voice in the locker room. His voice caused Calleigh to jump and she turned immediately towards him.

"This whole case was doomed from the start. I knew there was something fishy going on with this the minute the girl was found on the beach." Eric interjects with an air of confidence. "What do you think Calleigh?"

She turns to stare at the team, who miraculously pop up behind Walter. "Professionally I think, that the evidence showed that Michael killed all those girls. Personally, I feel that Esteban might've at least had a hand in some of the killings." She can tell that her answer threw off the team.

"What? Did you expect that I'd take sides? Nope, I'm full of surprises. I'm just glad that this case is finally over with and we can continue on with our lives." And on that huff she exits the locker room only to meet up with Scott.

"Told you it'll be over soon." He says, a soft smile playing at his lips.

"I didn't expect this. Do I have to go to my house again or can I go home?" she asks in a rush.

"Yea you're going to your house tonight… Caine might get obsessive and follow one of you guy's aro…" he trails off and Calleigh follows his line of sight.

Caine really was tailing Scott, presumably to find out where she was going, but it's a good thing she was going to her house. Hmm she's a horrible criminal. "Oh my god!" she screamed, causing Scott to almost veer off. "What Leigh?"

"I'm a criminal!" she turns to look at him. Scott was failing at not laughing, "You're adorable do you know that? Of course you're a criminal. But lucky for you, you're an invincible one. Soak in that feeling and then tell me how it feels." Scott turns to look at Calleigh and started laughing.

"How am I adorable? I can shoot and kill you if I wanted to. And stop laughing at me. Before I say you hurt me, and then they'd all gang up on you!" she threatened lamely, mostly because she was laughing herself.

"Who would you call to gang up on me? Caine's team?" he shoots back.

"I would tell Esteban, Papi, and Abuela. Who would then either get rid of you themselves or call whomever to get rid of you. Don't think I won't do it." She adds her childish rant with sticking out her tongue.

"Wow, I feel threatened. So threatened by a 5"1' petite woman who loves to cuddle herself to sleep." His sideways look causes Calleigh to burst out laughing harder.

"I don't like you."

"Love you too Leigh."

He drops her home and makes a point of looking really happy in case Caine was still watching, which he was. Stepping in, she notices a pair of heels that certainly was too rich for her to taste, as well as two other pair of men shoes. "Abuela?"

Stepping into her living room she notices all three Navarro's sitting waiting for her return. She immediately looks to the blinds and is thankful that they're all closed. "Caine is outside right now, what if he…" a knock on her door distracts her.

She turns to look and throws their shoes at them.

Answering the door she's unsurprised to see Delko ad Caine standing at the door. "Hey guys what's up?" she lamely asks.

"Just came to check up on you, make sure nothing is happening." Eric says, his voice heavy with concern.

"Can we come in Miss?" horaatio asks politely.

"You may certainly not, I have things to do… right now." Calleigh's sweating internally with nerves.

"Okay, okay Calleigh we'll be on our way. Just be careful. If not for you for me?" Eric looks at her with those puppy dog eyes and Calleigh almost promises him, but she holds her tongue. She reaches her hand out and grabs his shoulder, "I'll do my best Eric. I'm just not in a good place right now. I just my own time to figure things out." by the way his eyes lit up, she knew she just got him to lay off of her for a while.

They leave without another word, though Eric looks back and has an extra pep in his step. She finally did something right.

Shutting the door she looks toward that accursed room.

"How'd you get into my house?" she asks calmly

"I can pick locks, but I got a copy of your keys." Esteban states lamely, as if he were asking for a cup of soda.

"But that's not important come here Leigh" Esteban pats his lap, and she makes a point of surveying the amount of chairs she could sit in. the only response was another pat of his lap. She sits down with a huff, but makes sure to make herself comfortable.

She rests her head against his chest, so she was able to hear his heartbeat. He runs fingers through her hair and she found the act calming. "I missed you Leigh. I spent the last two days just thinking about how you felt in my arms."

She sits up for a second to shyly kiss his cheek and ducks back into his chest. "I guess you missed me too. It's okay you only have to deal with not seeing me for another week."

Her head snaps up this time, almost striking him in the chin "What! A Week? Why?" she should be happy but she feels like something's been ripped out of her chest. She was going to miss him!

"Papi and I agreed that it would be a good thing to lay low, and we were planning on attending this monthly crime con anyway…"

"Crime con?" she interrupts.

"How else do you think we find out information and spread it so quickly? For them it's just a monthly update on everything, but I like to call it crime con. Anyway, it's a week long. So it was either take you with us or leave you here. We can't take you here now because of the fire Caine started. So Abuela is here to stay with you for the whole week." Calleigh was shocked. Once again it amazed her on how organized organize crime is.

"So you're lying low. Okay, I thought it was just going to be me by myself, all alone." She drags.

"Oh bebe I'm going to be here. We're going to get to know each other very well. Starting now, it's time for a bath." Abuela gets up and walks away, fully expecting Calleigh to follow.

So that's exactly what Calleigh does, she follows Abuela into her bathroom. The bath was being set and Abuela turned to her expectantly. "Strip bebe." Was all she said.

Calleigh, being used to this by now just takes her clothes off. Abuela watches her every movement and continues to stare even after she's done. "You're beautiful do you know that?" was her only remark before Calleigh sunk into the Jacuzzi.

Abuela began to soap up her loofah and began to intimately give her a bath. This woman was a surprising one. Calleigh looked up as Abuela was washing her back to admire her.

Abuela had a slightly darker skin tone than Papi, her hair was lighter than Boa Vista's though. But her eyes,, her eyes were the same shade of brown as Esteban's. "See something you like bebe?" her voice, her voice was almost angelic. It was soft though Calleigh could pick up on the authoritative side.

Calleigh would think five times before pissing this woman off. Calleigh felt something cold touch her scalp. Abuela was washing her hair! "You don't have to Abuela I can do it myself." Calleigh held no tone of defiance, she was just so used to doing things herself.

"It's fine bebe. I was just using this bath to see whatever damage Esteban did to you. Glad to see that the bruises aren't serious ones. They're healing quite nicely despite it being almost three days since you've been given them. How are you feeling?" that caught Calleigh off guard.

"Uh, I feel fine. The first day my breast really hurt, and so did my… but I only feel slight discomfort. I just don't think about it. The less it hurts the less I think about it. But I understand why he did it." She's silent as Abuela washes out the shampoo.

"Do tell, I want to make sure you know the entire reason." Calleigh stops to think.

"Well for one, he was mad and lost control. But mostly it was to show that I belong to him and that he is the one in control." Calleigh felt relieved to get it off her chest.

"Yes and no. He dominated you yes to show he was in control and he did lose control. But it wasn't just that. This little lesson was to show you how much of control he has over you. He loves you to death, but you blatantly ignored his request of not saying anything and snitched to Caine. He had to show the rest of this little crime family that he knew how to discipline you.

"You may have immunity in regard to the crime world, but that doesn't mean you can be reckless. Esteban was just showing you he is the one to discipline you. Though both Papi and I will discipline you if we have to. But I have a feeling that we won't have to. Am I right?" Calleigh looks into the woman's eyes, they were like steel.

"Yes Abuela you're right. I won't misbehave anymore." Calleigh promises.

"Good because you're too adorable for me to cause pain to." Abuela gets a towel and wraps Calleigh around her. Leaving the bathroom as well as leaving Calleigh to stop and think about what she had just said.


	29. Grooming

Mmmm kinda sorta rape but not really, more like grooming… Well be warned!

Calleigh walked into her bedroom to find Abuela sitting comfortably on her bed. "Here, I'm pretty sure you missed this" and in her hands was Calleigh's silk green nightgown. "You'll be spending the night with Esteban, I'm assuming you already knew that." Abuela handed her the nightgown and walked out of the room.

As soon as Calleigh slipped the nightgown over her head, arms snaked around her waist. "I missed you, but I've already told you that" came his deep rumble. He dipped his head down to her shoulder and gave a light peck and nibble on her shoulder. She tensed slightly, causing him to pull her tighter. His hands ran through her hair and she relaxed again, only to tense at the feel of his arousal pushing at her back.

He nuzzled her neck before bringing her over to her bed. He laid her down softly and climbed on top. "We're going to do this the proper way, not like last time. I want you to feel me dominate you. I want yu to enjoy being taken. I'm not going to hurt you, I could never hurt you. I just want to show you how much I love you". He hoped his words would have a calming effect, and they did. She relaxed under him and allowed him to continue.

He loved her in the nightgown, she looked like a goddess. But it was going to have to go. He slipped it over her head and admired her beauty. "My god, you're beautiful." He whispered before leaning down and taking a pointed tip into his mouth.

She began to squirm and he knew that she was enjoying his ministrations. He hoped secretly that her nipple pebbled from what he was doing and not from fear. He secretly hoped that she was getting used to him being around.

He switched breasts and got the same squirming from Leigh. "Good girl. Just let me make you feel good." Tonight was about him starting to groom her. She'd have to get used to his touch eventually. He might as well make her miss it for a week.

He stopped when she started to tense. He brought his mouth to her collarbone and began to suckle. He might as well give her a hickey, power trips are fun. She squirms and he hears her let out a moan. So he sucked harder and her hitched breath was relief on his part to hear.

Calleigh tried hard to ignore the pleasure, but when he started to suckle her neck, she was a goner. It's been so long since she's done the deed that her body is on autopilot.

It felt like a tug of war was happening inside herself and she was powerless to stop it. "Good girl. I knew you would enjoy that. I told you, I don't want to hurt you. I just want to make you feel good. I want to make your dreams become a reality".

God he was so cliché. She can't keep the lone tear of frustration at herself from falling. Esteban bends down and kisses the tear away. He is being so gentle that more tears escape her eyes.

"No need for tears, what we have is beautiful. I love you. I want to show how much I love you. You don't have to say it back… yet. I can wait till you're ready. Do you want me to stop?"

Calleigh's eyes flew wide open at his words. Did he really just ask her that? Yea, it happened. She nods her head slowly, too afraid at what his response was going to be.

"I'll stop then, we don't have to go all the way. But I need to finish, so all I ask is that you watch okay?" his eyes were pleading and she knew that the question was rhetorical. He was making her feel like she had a choice and so she nods.

He kneels in between her legs and grabs himself. He begins to stroke after meeting her eyes. The desire she saw in his was incredible. She could see the large amount of desire as well as it is one of the most amazing things she's ever seen.

When her eyes look in another direction, he grabs her back, "No! Look at me, I want to come seeing those beautiful eyes." he pleads.

She looks at him again and when they make eye contact he groans deeply and she feels moisture puddle on her stomach.

Esteban steadies himself before getting up and retrieving a wipe. He cleans her off as well as himself and puts her nightgown back on. "Let's go to sleep. I have to be up early tomorrow." It was all he said to her before turning out the lights.

"I love you Leigh. Good night."

"Good night Esteban." He rolls over and puts Calleigh onto his chest. She wills herself to calm down and not to let a single tear shed and she succeeds, up until he runs his fingers through her hair. Now she starts to let the tears silently fall. She just let Esteban get to her, now she really does belong to him.

Her body betrayed her, and dammit she allowed her body to betray her. Now she's stuck where she is, between a rock and a hard place. She just let Esteban know that she is under his complete control. This is getting really bad. She falls asleep before anything could happen, to the feel of Esteban underneath her.

Esteban woke up to the sound of his father's voice. "Mi hijo wake up. It's time to go."

Groaning, Esteban slowly got up, careful not to disturb Leigh in any way possible. She shifts into a more comfortable position at his side. He runs his fingers through her hair and bends down to nuzzle her. Turning he got a look at the clock, he jumps up. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier, it's almost five?"

His father looks at him with a solid face "I almost did, but you looked so peaceful." With a shrug Papi walks off and Esteban shakes his head.

Looking at Leigh he realizes he's going to have to move her with Abuela. He carefully picks her up and slowly walks to the guestroom. "It's about time." Came the only response he got from Abuela.

"Papi just woke me up, so shush." He chides back. He lays Calleigh down gently and Abuela immediately comforts her. "We'll see you guys in a week. Te amo Abuela."

"Te amo, Esteban."

He looked back to see Abuela pulling the covers over herself and Leigh and with a sigh he and Papi go off into the night with a long week ahead of them.


	30. It All Makes Sense

Eric was the first to pick up on Calleigh's weird behavior. She is being even more distant than she has been recently. He finds himself staring at her while the team eats their dinner in the break room. It was miraculous that she is even here though, seeing as she hasn't spent any personal time with the team for the past month and a half.

Calleigh was off to the side, purposely avoiding any contact with them. "Hey Calleigh, why don't you come sit with us?" his voice was soft and he kept al possible animosity out. She looks over stunned and offers a small smile. "Sure, thank you." She says with a blush.

The team stare Eric down and he raises his eyebrows in defense. Calleigh isn't slow and she sits back where she was, "Never mind, if they don't want me over there than I won't bother you guys."

Ryan's voice rings out "Yea Calleigh you're welcomed to sit with _us_" the emphasis on the word us made Calleigh wince.

"It's okay, I'm about to leave anyway. I have to meet Scott." She gathers her things and leaves. But Eric is sure that everyone could pick up on the tears her voice was laden in.

"Dude, I thought we agreed we'd try and figure out what was wrong with her. We can't do that if you're being an ass." Eric all but hisses at Ryan.

"Yea Ryan, Eric's right. When she and I were patrolling Esteban in his house, she only spoke because I spoke to her. She seems like she wants to tell us. She just doesn't know how." Natalia pipes up. Ryan blushes with embarrassment and he apologizes.

"Don't apologize to us Wolfe, apologize to her." Walter chimes in.

"It's not like we can ever find her, we've been to her house for the past three days! She either wasn't there or she was ignoring us. If I can find her then I will apologize. But for now I apologize to you guys for being the ass that I am". He raises his hands in defeat.

Eric nods his head, it was better than nothing. "She's definitely keeping something big from us."

"Maybe Esteban got to her already" they all turn to see H standing in the doorway. His eyes were pointed towards the retreating figure of Calleigh. When he turned Eric can see the solemn look in his eyes.

"What makes you think that?" Walter poses.

"It's the only thing that makes sense. We've seen it before with Natali, Ryan, and even you Eric." He pauses for them to grasp the reality of the situation.

"Now add Calleigh's personality. She's used to taking care of people. Natalia when you told me about her not wanting us to get hurt at her hands it clicked. Calleigh never shows her soft side. She was giving a warning. She told me that she thinks the Navarro's are too powerful for us to take on. She said t with so much confidence that even I almost believed it.

"I'm not saying that she's in cahoots with them, but the way in which she regarded them, showed me that she had to personally come across what the Navarro's are capable of doing. No one speaks like that without any personal experience." Eric takes a minute to digest everything H said.

Eric knows Calleigh better than anyone else in the world does. But he knows himself better. When he was working with the State Attorney, he was acting more distant and same goes for Ryan and Natalia.

Maybe it was Calleigh's turn to take a dip in the dark side. Hopefully all she is doing is dipping her toes in and not diving in head first into a bad place. She deserves better than this. Since her childhood she's been pushed around and treated as a second class citizen.

Now she might really be stuck with Esteban for god knows how long. Before, when she first acting weird, they had an inkling that Esteban had been messing around her. She did start acting weird after the murder of Abigail.

"We all know that Scott is working with the Navarro's. And Calleigh has been spending a lot of her free time with him" H continues.

"It's entirely possible that he's aiding in the brainwashing of Calleigh. We need to find out what's going on exactly, so anything Calleigh says that isn't related to the case, you guys need to mentally document.

"The last thing we need is someone like Calleigh switching sides." He adds.

Eric jumps up, finally realizing. The whole team looks to him for an explanation and he takes a deep breath.

"Think about this. Out of everyone on the team, who seems the most untouched? Calleigh. She is the one that's been here since the team started, she's the one who would be there whenever something went wrong with anyone.

"Calleigh is the rock, the foundation. If you take her out, we all fall. Get to her and you get to us." He finishes with a huff.

"Wow Delko. I didn't know you could think that deeply." Ryan quips but he looks like he agrees.

"She really is the glue that holds us together. Maybe the Navarro's realized that. And applause for them for being so clever. Poor Calleigh is just a pawn." Natalia is saddened.

"And we all know what happens to pawns when they become useless." Horatio adds sadly. He slinks out of the room without another word and the team looks between themselves.


	31. Feeling Misplaced

Short chapter ahoy!

Scott drops Calleigh off with a wave, she herself felt saddened. Not over the fact that she would be without Esteban for only a week, but over the fact that her house felt like less of a home. The familiarity of her walls were gone and every step felt like a stab to her heart.

She steps into the foyer with a heavy sigh. Even Kevin at her feet makes her feel wary. "Not today, not any day".

Her slow trudge throughout the hallway to the room became slower and heavier with every step. She sets a bath for herself and peels off her clothes.

"You don't look so well bebe." Comes Abuela's voice. She walks over and runs her fingers through Calleigh's hair.

"I'm so confused. On one hand I'm finally glad to be back home... To my house. And on the other, I don't feel like this is the home I've worked so hard for." Calleigh's brain throbbed. The conflicting thoughts grew into an ongoing battle. One that would last for a long time.

Once away from Esteban, she realized how much she allowed herself to be taken in by him. She suddenly wonders where all her strength went and why it wasn't there to help her any longer. It must've been the time Esteban chose to introduce himself.

Things with Eric were pretty confusing and she didn't know where they stood.

She felt the team slowly drifting away from each other at times, especially since Jesse died.

Caine was nonexistent and she felt like he was trying to disconnect himself from the rest of the team.

That and Abigail was brutally murdered. And Esteban was the one to kill her.

Maybe the time Esteban showed up was opportunistic for him. She was weak mentally and drained emotionally. Surely it carried onto her physical state. She didn't do anything to him when he first showed himself. Mostly because she was too tired to even care. But looking back maybe she should've.

But spending so much time in the Navarro's home, with the Navarro's, made her feel like she was finally included. Even though she didn't have much say, she still was able to voice her opinions instead of keeping them buried. Even Scott would allow her to ramble. No matter the outcome, she was able to express her worries and doubts.

With the team, you have to be a unit. Even if one person, usually her, has something to say, that person has to suffer like the rest of them. She wouldn't have to do that anymore. She can be as free as she wanted to be.

That was an upside to all this. She was invincible. Most of the criminal organizations, if not all, have ties with the Navarro's. If they're planning on overtaking Caine and the team. She would remain untouched. It was bittersweet though, because now her former friends would suffer as well.

"You should get some rest early tonight okay bebe. I don't like the way you're looking right now." Abuela's voice interrupts Calleigh's inner mess.

"Yea I think I'm going to." She takes a long soothing bath. Enjoying the solitude for half an hour before getting out.

She climbs underneath her sheets, tossing and turning for another two hours. Looking at the clock she realizes it's 12:45 and sleep was evasive. She pads her way across her house and to the living room, where noise could be heard.

Abuela was on the couch watching some show, completely digested into the drama playing out on the screen. "Abuela?" she rang out causing the older woman to jump.

"Oh bebe you frightened me. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I couldn't sleep, too uncomfortable." She mumbles.

Calleigh makes her way over to the couch, gathering the throw on the back of her chair. Laying down on the couch, she stretches out and lays her head on Abuela's lap. The woman proceeds to run fingers through Calleigh's hair and in an instant she felt herself drifting off to sleep.


	32. Envious Ones

Hey yea a new chapter, it's only been like two months psshhhhh.

Vina spent the whole week catering to bebe's needs. One being that she moved Calleigh and Kevin into the Navarro household officially. Bebe was a lot happier after moving in, more comfortable.

And now as Vina looks down at bebe sleeping in the bed, she's grateful for Calleigh being there. Before Esteban was living life at face value, he had a pet here and there. But nothing and no one was enough to bring Esteban to a full stop. They had heard of Calleigh through the whole underground crime organization for years now, but nothing was able to compare them to actually meeting her.

She is an extremely vivacious woman, even with her being complacent, she's still as lively as ever. Calleigh is not afraid to tell what she's thinking, but she watches what she says. And Vina could respect that. Vina knows that Calleigh knows her place, and wouldn't get too far ahead of herself.

"I missed her so much Abuela, you have no idea." Came Esteban's voice from the doorway, Diego trailing behind him. Vina turns to his voice and a smile appears across her face.

"Oh mi hijo. How was the trip?" one look at her son and grandson and she knew it was a fun one.

"Well Mami, I can tell you that it was very humorous as usual. Esteban here sparked the envy of all the male and quite a large number of female admirers of that young woman over there." Diego all but laughs out. Esteban rolls his eyes at Abuela and chuckled.

"Well it's a good thing that you got to her first then. I'm going to my room, Calleigh has been a handful this week and another one is about to enter in the next week." Vina walks off without another word and decides to spend the rest of her morning relaxing in the comfort of her room.

Calleigh woke up to Abuela stroking her hair. This time however, her hand felt rough and almost foreign. Opening her eyes she was met with the familiar brown of a certain person.

"Esteban!" she launched herself at him in a wind of hair. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before ducking her head in the crook of his neck. "I missed you."

"I missed you more. I had a lot of fun, wish you were there though." Esteban looks down at her blushing form. She looks up with a start.

"You wanted me there? Hmmm, I feel like all I would do is drag you down and make you seem like you don't have a hold on me."

"Oh I don't think so, though Abuela did say that you were a handful. You would've had fun, and we would've been a pair."

"A pair? Really? How did people react to me being with you?" she asks.

"Well for one, they didn't know why you had immunity put on you so that was a surprise. Secondly, jaws dropped to the floor. I drew many envious glares, especially from the Mala Noche. The Russians however tried to buy you off of me." he paused at her gasp. "I know bebe I know. Obviously I didn't sell you, because that would be horrible and counterproductive on my part."

"Well thanks I guess. Can we please talk about this after I get back from work?" she gives him her best puppy dog eyes and Esteban gives in. he spent way too much time away from her.

"I'm going to go to sleep. Go bebe. See you later, love you."

Calleigh pauses at the bathroom door. "Yea, I know."

Short chapter! I'm sorry but I have finals!


	33. Why?

So I updated earlier and just as a warning, check out the previous chapter unless you already have.

The first thing Eric notices is Calleigh's extremely contagious happiness permeate through the air. "I wonder what's going on with her."

For the past week she's been in a steady growth of happiness. At the start she was very jumpy, and seemed like she was trying to hide from everyone. But as the days passed by, she grew happier. He asked her what was going on and all she said was "bonding time". Who the family is, only she and god knows.

Whoever she was with was making her very happy. And as long as she was safe, he didn't care.

"Brother, have you noticed Caleigh acting very weird as of late? I'm glad she's happy, but everything that's been happening lately happens to be corresponding to her mood." Came Horatio's voice from the back of the locker room.

Eric stops at that moment. Esteban has been dormant the entire week, nothing fishy popped up. No woman went missing under any mysterious circumstances. And no bodies were found with the Taunter signature.

All the while, Calleigh's mood actually has been improving. Her reaction to the one victim found naked scared them all. Though no one wanted to say anything, they did notice her aversion towards looking at the body more than necessary.

In fact, that whole case seemed very personal for Calleigh. Her face was laced in remorse and guilt each time she looked at the body. And when the team speculated over the reasoning for the cleaning to the body, Calleigh became stoic and disinterested in the subject. Any answer she gave was clipped and delivered with little to no emotion.

And now with Esteban on a presumed hiatus, Calleigh seems to be a lot more cheerful. Could it be because Esteban focused more on her instead of torturing women? It did seem to make more sense seeing as he owned his own business.

The more Eric looked at the situation at hand, the more everything became clearer.

"She hasn't been putting in any overtime at all since her vacation. Even with the Taunter case becoming more stressful for everyone." Eric finally concedes.

A nod from Horatio told him he was onto something. "As for her mood, it has been fluctuating as of late. Especially since we discovered that body two weeks ago. It was as if she knew something we didn't and felt guilty for hiding it. Since Esteban stopped killing, she has been happier. I mean it's only one week but I'm pretty sure her mood has been lifting. It's not normal for her.

"Normally when something like this happens she'll appear bipolar almost, in order to throw off suspicion on our part. But this time she's been unable to control her emotions, choosing instead to show us that she's fine rather than tell us." God his head was pounding. But Horatio seems to understand what he was saying.

"I think it's time for us to talk to her, while she's in a good mood. Don't you agree brother?" Horatio asks, his head in a familiar tilt, a manila folder in his hand, materialized out of nowhere.

Just then the door opens and the familiar click clack of heels started to bounce off the walls.

Horatio braced himself for what was sure to be a very abrasive conversation.

"Morning Delko, Caine." It pained him every time Calleigh said his name like that. They've been through so many things together and for her to so casually refer to him as just a boss is heartbreaking.

"We want to talk to you" Eric simply states, cutting to the chase is a good idea.

"About what?" came her suspicious voice. That is not a good sign, not a good sign at all.

Without saying a word, Horatio handed the manila folder to her. Calleigh's hands are steady as she reaches for the folder, but immediately start to shake as she takes note of its content.

Its pictures of the naked prostitute they found two weeks ago. And her breath catches and she looks at Horatio. Her eyes reflected the pain she must be feeling, but anger, sorrow, and even guilt resonated there as well.

"What is this about? She's clearly a victim of the Taunter, but the only thing here are pictures of her body." She shakily gives him back the folder.

"Calleigh, we want to know why her body was cleaned. The Taunter doesn't care for cleaning the body as well as he did. Obviously something must've happened for him to have so perfectly clean the body." Horatio hoped to get to her analytical side but seeing her eyes go dark he knew that she wasn't going to say anything.

Calleigh on the other hand was angry. How dare Caine come in and ruin her perfect morning. She just ha the most relaxing week of her life and he just ruined it. The woman came into mind once again at his request for answers and she felt the anger grow.

"I'm just as stumped as the rest of the team Caine. Why are you asking me in such a sketchy way?" she saw his frustration grow in body language and Eric's sigh of anger wasn't lost upon her, he was the first to speak.

"Because we know that you know why this woman was practically bathed. We just want to know why as well. Calleigh you can't hide from us and you can't hide the truth from us any longer." His eyes were pleading.

She wants to tell them, trust her she does. But what would Esteban do when he finds out she said something. Nope. Esteban seems to have finally trust her and she was not going to betray his trust. Abuela, Papi, and especially Esteban scared her way more than Horatio ever could.

Sitting on the bench she gathers her head in her hands rubbing at her eyelids. She finds herself running her hands through her hair as a means of comfort before she begins to speak.

"I don't know why she's been cleaned, but I can make an educated guess. He must've messed up somewhere along his usual process and had to get rid of any evidence of his mistake." They are definitely going to see through that.

"Yea Calleigh, a rookie would be able to tell us that we need more." Eric really struck a rock there.

"I don't know Delko, maybe he threw up on her or something, either way you guys are definetly not getting any evidence off the body." Came her sharp reply.

Horatio immediately stood straight. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"We found vomit in a wound, and like you said we couldn't find any valuable DNA off of it." Shit she was caught. She began to bite her lip. This was Interrogation 101, make the suspect do all the talking. Well if they were going to treat her like a criminal, which technically at this point she was, she was going to act like one.

"Listen, I just went through a list in my head and threw a dart at it. It's been very frustrating this case. But vomit seemed like a reason to clean a body. But he's not a rookie, so why would he even throw up?" Eric seemed to have been slightly persuaded until Caine talked.

"Maybe it wasn't him who threw up." and with that he and Eric left the locker room. Calleigh sat there for an additional five minutes before getting up and doing her job. Making sure to stay clear of everyone for as much as possible.

"How was your day bebe?" O'Shay asks probably picking up on her nervousness. She's been quiet the entire trip back home.

"They know that I'm with Esteban. I don't know what to do. I tried to get them off my back but it's obvious that I failed." Her eyes began to water. Her life was just becoming normal again.

"It's okay bebe, soon you won't have to deal with any of this okay. Just relax and take in the Miami sun for now." After a hug she bides O'Shay with a goodbye.

Without another word, she heads straight to her room and showers. Coming out of the bathroom she spots Esteban reading a book on the bed.

She climbs into his lap, and settles down for the night. "I heard about your day, just relax and go to sleep. Tomorrows a day off for you. Just wait." was the only thing he said before running a hand through her hair and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I didn't say anything" she began to shake.

"I know bebe. I know. You're not in any trouble. Just sleep now. Dormir bebe dormir."

Her eyes flutter closed and with a sigh she follows his order and goes to sleep.


	34. I Know, Trust me I Know

"Leigh, Leigh, wake up." Esteban coaxed her out of sleep. He couldn't resist calling her bebe before, but he preferred Leigh over the pet name Papi gave her. She had the day off today, the first since her vacation. She looked relaxed for the most part. Maybe their "special time" worked the way he wanted.

She did kiss him when she first saw him yesterday. That was a very surprising reaction on her part. He was pleasantly surprised at the kiss she gave him. He was actually still floating on cloud nine over it.

Not resisting the urge, he dips his head and plants a kiss on her lips. She smiles in her sleep before adjusting her position. "I've been up for the last however long Esteban." She peeps open one eye, exposing the perfect green iris.

"And you didn't wake me up because?" he questions.

"Maybe you wanted to sleep. I don't know. I'll make sure every time I get up from here on out I will wake you up. No matter the time." Her cheeky grin along with the sarcastic tone caused a chuckle to escape from Esteban despite his efforts to not laugh.

"Well that would be very grateful for that Leigh, I would love nothing more than to be disturbed by your sporadically random working hours."

"Hey, if it weren't for people like you, I wouldn't have such chaotic work hours. I wouldn't have work at all." She shoots back easily.

"Hmm your statement holds some truth in it. Speaking for the crime world, we're glad to have given you purpose in life."

"Oh hahaha. You're lucky you're so very charismatic. I should've shot you two months ago. Actually I can shoot you now."

She holds her hand up, mocking a gun and pretends to shoot him.

"Ow those pretend bullets hurt. You wouldn't hurt me right?" their playful conversation took a sudden dip. Calleigh stared at him for a while before shaking her head.

"No actually I can't. If I could, I would've done so a long time ago. And don't take that for granted, it's only because you've ended up giving me stability in my home life. I didn't know what I would do if you hadn't actually decided to 'kidnap me' per say. Believe it or not, but I feel safe with all three of you. I know where I stand in this household. Before with Caine, I always felt like I was about to be replaced. About to be fired. But with you guys I know I'm not going anywhere. I may be betraying the team but I have no problem doing that now.

"Before I fought tooth and nail not to say anything for their safety. Now I'm perfectly happy where I am. That week with Abuela was very eye opening. We talked about everything and anything. Our families, hobbies, likes and dislikes. She is very nice, you all are. Plus the invincibility during work is an added bonus. It feels nice going to a crime scene knowing that I won't get shot down." Her eyes shone through, telling Esteban that everything she said was true and he was struck by it.

It was a good idea, he finally did something right. He is able to make someone else happy.

"I'm glad you feel that way. Glad I'm the one to make you feel that way. Come on lets go get some food, I'm pretty sure you're starving. And hey" she looks up at him. "I love you." She smiles and hides her blush, "I know, Esteban. Trust me I know." She plants a sweet kiss to his cheek.

"Why do you do that? That one chaste kiss?" Esteban asks finally. It's been bothering him for a while now.

"I guess it's a southern thing. Sort of like a thank you. It's a habit." She replies simply and with a shrug.

"If you kiss me, I would love for it not to be out of habit. That sounds horrible. Do it because you want to. Not because you feel like you have to." And he was being serious, the last thing he wants right now is for Calleigh to force herself to love him. Now THAT would be counterproductive.

"I am southern, it's in my blood. But thanks for the knowledge." she giggles before a thought returns to her.

"About yesterday, I might've told a little white lie yesterday." Esteban starts at this. He tilts his head in curiosity,trying not to let his anger show.

"Go on." Was all he could say. When she tensed he knew that he had made a mistake.

"I, uh. I told Caine and Delko that the reason why you cleaned that body two weeks ago was because you vomited." Her breathing quickened.

"Go on."

"Caine realized my mistake and guessed that I must've thrown up on it." She began to shake.

"It's not like they have any solid evi…"

"Evidence yea, apparently you missed a spot." She flinched at his sharp intake of breath.

Calleigh was scared right now. Esteban's face contorted with anger before he allowed himself to calm down.

"B-b-b-but there was no usable DNA at all. A-a-a-all they know is t-that"

"That what Calleigh?" his tone is clipped

"That the *sigh* that the body was cleaned because someone vomited. I slipped and told him that maybe t-the killer must've. And he concluded that someone else less seasoned threw up, because the killer would be use to death by now. But Horatio would only say that to me because he knows something is up."

She couldn't stop her voice from shaking. Last time she disobeyed orders, Esteban had raped her. And there was no way in hell he is going to do that again without her fighting.

"I'm not mad at you Leigh, just a bit disappointed." He cupped her cheeks. His forehead touched hers and he planted a soft kiss to her lips.

"you told me without me having to ask. That I can appreciate. Just remember next time they ask you a question like that, feign ignorance. I'm glad you told me. you're not in any trouble but look at me." she leans her head up, staring into his eyes.

"I want you, right here, right now to tell me that no matter what happens you'll be with me. With Papi, and Abuela. No matter the outcome, because if everything boils over, and it will.

"I need to know if you'll stay with us, or go with them." And like that, the ball is in her court.

"Like I said before, I feel safe with you all. I didn't mean for the slip up. I just wanted them to leave me alone. I won't let the pressure get to me if there comes a next time. I'm with you guys, no matter."

"No matter?" Esteban confirms.

"No matter." She tilts her head back and plants a kiss on Esteban's lips. He smiles against her and deepens the kiss.

Esteban is way beyond ecstatic. He got the girl of his dreams in the palm of his hands. Partly by Stockholm Syndrome, he guessed. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. She chose him and his family, not Caine's, him. That has to count for something.

He slipped his tongue pass her lips and she accepts him readily. An ache from below was followed by a moan from his lips, and he breaks the kiss in order not to scare her.

"I love you." He says when he finally gets his breath back.

"I know" came her breathy response.


	35. I Love You

They sat facing each other on Esteban's bed. Leigh was absolutely stunning now, her hair sleep tousled, lips swollen from the kiss. But her eyes, her eyes were absolutely beautiful. They shone the most brilliant emerald, but they were darkening to a jade. He could hopefully guess that it was from arousal. His eyes meanwhile travels back down to her lips, they were perfect. He dipped his head back down and she leans hers up.

Their lips lock once again and Esteban feels like he's floating. Leigh lets out a soft moan and he feels that ache once again. Definitely tonight he is going to have to jerk one out.

Calleigh felt her arousal build. She's been trying to fight that ache since he first touched her intimately, but she hadn't had any sex since Eric almost a year and a half ago, and his touches riled her up more than she can admit. During the week with Abuela, Calleigh didn't have any time to herself. Seeing as she slept with Abuela. She was never alone during the day, and Abuela bathed her for "inspection" every night. Calleigh had no time to take care of herself so to speak. And she figured, if she was stuck with Esteban, she might as well enjoy it.

Esteban grabbed her thighs and lifted her onto his lap. She could feel his arousal through his pajamas and she moans once again. He kisses her lips once more before tracing her jawline up to the shell of her ear.

"Esteban" she moans.

He grabs her harder and sucks on her earlobe. Her intake of breath caused Esteban to chuckle. His suckling continues to grow, and Calleigh begins to pant.

Maybe he didn't have to jerk one out later tonight. Calleigh is being more than receptive right now, he might as well test his limit. She sits up and swings her leg over him, so that she is straddling him. She's shaking and he knows it's from nerves.

He runs his hands up and down her back to try and calm her down and it was working. She planted kisses along his jawline and started to suck on the juncture of his collarbone and shoulder. His shudder is enough for Calleigh to suck harder and he knew she would leave a hickey for sure, up until she bit him, now it would be a love bite. "Leigh, that feels amazing."

"I know it does." Her tone is teasing and he becomes daring.

He kisses his way down her neck, "You can't give me one Esteban, the team will see." He makes his way to the swell of her breast. He sucks hard on the swell reveling in her moans. He gives her small bites before he enacts his revenge.

"Oh! came her response when he bit down almost hard enough to cause her to bleed. He licks the pain away and he slips the strap of her nightgown down her arm. He looks up into her eyes and she nods her head. Calleigh shakily picks up her nightgown and lifts it over her head, leaving her only in a pair of panties.

He looks her up and down, and is pleasantly surprised at her not covering up. Her breasts are full and lively, her nipples were rosy and taut, the bite mark beginning to show bruising. Esteban's ache began to pulse with each one of his erratic heartbeats.

He is grateful for the lack of shirt and pulls Leigh on him. Her pebbled nipples scraped against him he pauses in order to relish the feeling. Leigh nuzzles his neck before meeting his lips again. He makes quick work of his pajama bottoms, taking his boxers with them.

Feeling him bare against her cloth covered crotch seemed to snap Calleigh out of her reverie. She was about to give herself willingly to the Miami Taunter! Instead of being repulsed by it, she found it exhilarating and for the first time since Esteban has waltzed into her life, she allows herself to listen to that nagging feeling in the back of her head. The one telling her to completely let go, officially give herself to Esteban. To stop worrying about Caine and the team.

The voice is right, for years she's been doing what she was expected to do. She thought she found happiness with Eric, but when the whole Russian fiasco ended and she saw how physical their relationship turned, she ended it. Esteban, however much insane he is, was not going to hurt her. He wasn't going to kill, her. And as long as she stayed quiet her safety was ensured. Esteban is rolling in dough, so all of her needs are met. Yea, she definitely is going to get as much pleasure as she possibly can.

Esteban noticed her slight hesitation and ran his fingers across her cheekbones. "You okay Leigh?"

She looked at him and with a chaste kiss, he's sure that she's fine. "One step at a time okay?" she asks in a small voice.

"One step." And with that he leans down and takes a nipple in between his lips. He can feel her heart beating just underneath her breast and his fingers find her right nipple and begins to tug gently. "That feels…nice"

"I know it does" Esteban replies with a chuckle. He rolls them over and continues his assault on her breasts. He begins to alternate between hands and mouth, from one breast to the other.

Soon, Calleigh began to make breathy moans, a curse making its way past her lips every time he bit down on a swell. His hand moves down her stomach, loving the way her muscles twitched at his touch. His hand makes its way to the waistband of her underwear and slips past them.

"Please Esteban." He looked into her eyes and saw how desperate she was. He fingers travels lower and Caleigh's breaths deepen. She was hot, slick with moisture. He groans at the knowledge and he feels his heart swell, as well as his ego.

He slips her underwear down her legs and they join the rest of their clothing. They both look at each other for a brief moment. "You ready Leigh, there is no coming back from this." He is being serious.

"Yea Esteban I'm ready." They maintained their eye contact as he began to join them.

Calleigh felt the air crackle around them as he slips in. He fills her more than anyone previously had. She feels stuffed, but not overly so. His eyes were closed now, probably trying to get himself under control. His breath is coming in shakily and she's pretty sure her breaths matched.

He feels really good inside her, she feels really good. Her nerves were tingling from arousal, Esteban ducking his head and suckling once more at her breast made her catch her breath again. She felt her world center between his lips, teeth and tongue licking, biting, and sucking and his member slowly being thrust slowly between her legs.

"Don't stop, please Esteban don't stop." He bites down hard on her nipple and Calleigh found herself crying out. He is a lot rougher than what she's used to, but it's a welcomed change. His thrust goes deep this time and Calleigh calls out his name in wanton abandon.

He speeds up, his thrusts getting harder, going deeper. His grunts and moans send vibrations from her nipples straight to her clit. And when he reaches a hand to her other breast, she screams out her orgasm. Which in turn causes him to thrust even harder. He rails into her with reckless abandon now and his lips reach her neck. He suckles hard on her skin, trying to get himself under control again, but the way Calleigh's hands rake their way down his back, she was sure he was close to losing it.

Right as her first orgasm washes over her, she feels another start at the base of her spine. He looks into her eyes and she can tell that this was it. His thrusts turn erratic and while she tries to match his tempo, she is just as gone as he is and his hand reaches down to her clit and he rubs her, hard. "Este…Este…Esteban, I'm so close again."

"I am too Leigh. Just keep looking at me, don't close your eyes." he added a thrust to each one of his words. He leaves her clit to bring her legs over his shoulders before returning once more, and Calleigh loses it. "Este, Este, Esteban!" she comes with his name a full mantra on his lips and through her shout she can hear him scream her name to before she feels him empty himself into her. Her legs drop from his shoulders and he slumps onto her heaving chest. Spasms come from both of them as their orgasms wash through.

He rolls them over once more and she rests her head on his chest. Listening to his heart trying to slow down. He runs his hand through her hair and drops a kiss. "I love you." He says before she feels his body weaken from the same sleep she's about to fall into.

A soft "I love you too" was all Esteban heard before he felt himself weaken completely, only letting the sleep get to him when he feels Leigh pass out.

**Yups, that was a sorta but not really graphic sex scene. Kinda proud of myself. Leave a comment or drop a message if you so wish!**


	36. Oh No

The shrilling of her cell phone woke her from her slumber. Calleigh answered the offensive object with a huff.

"Hey Calleigh, listen you need to get ready. Horatio is going to pick you up in less than an hour." Rang Scott's voice.

"What?" Calleigh screamed waking Esteban up in the process. "Leigh what's wrong?"

Without answering Calleigh gathers the sheets around herself and heads for the bathroom. "Why Scott?"

"He wants you to interrogate Esteban, I'm on my way to get you now, be ready in twenty minutes." And he hangs up.

Calleigh jumps in the shower and in record time scrubs herself pink. Stepping out she dries herself only stopping when she notices something. On her neck was a bruise, not just any bruise, a hickey. Esteban gave her a hickey!

"You okay Leigh?" Esteban walks into the bathroom, his pajama bottoms riding low on his hips. Calleigh found herself getting flustered at the sight. But right now that wasn't important. "I have to interrogate you, so now I have to get dressed. Horatio is coming to pick me up"

"So what's the problem with that?" he shrugs. She could only give him an incredulous look.

"I'm here! Horatio is going to my… house in fifty minutes. Now can you pass me some underwear, as well as a tank and sweat please." He nods his head and in a flash he's back. "Why are you so angry?" he asks.

"You!" hit. "Gave!" hit. "Me!" hit. "A hickey!" she screams. She isn't mad, but she is a bit scared.

Esteban's chuckle caused her to giggle. "I'm sorry for that, I must've gotten carried away. Any who, thank you for hitting me. Get dressed Scott's downstairs." Esteban turns the shower on and Calleigh dresses.

"Afternoon Calleigh, you ready?" Scott gives her a big hug. "Yea let's get this over with. Afternoon Papi, Abuela."

"What's that on your neck bebe?" came Papi's inquiry. Abuela moves over her and pulls her hair back.

"Is that a hickey Calleigh?" Abuela's voice matched her face, full of surprise.

"Yeaaaa, I have to go. See you guys later. "We'll talk later Calleigh." Abuela screams after her.

Calleigh spent the whole ride avoiding Scott's questions. She explained everything to him and he bursts out in laughter. "Oh wow! I owe Vina some money. We had a bet going on how long you until you and Esteban would get together. Hate to see that I've lost. You couldn't have waited one more week?"

"You're making money off of this, at least trying to? Never mind then, why does Caine want me to interrogate Esteban?" Scott shakes his head.

"That I can't tell you, I want you to be as clueless as you possible. Be careful and see you later today okay?"

"Okay, see ya Scott." Calleigh had no idea what was happening tonight.

Making her way into her empty house, she was surprised it wasn't dusty. Well that was refreshing. She walks throughout the whole house, pushing all the memories she had away. She began to feel swamped by her house, it wasn't the same anymore, she is with Esteban now. That's all that matters Calleigh decides to nap on the couch until Caine arrived. If she could fall asleep that is.

The knocking on the door woke her up, it is a little after three and Calleigh trudges to the door. She stretches and all her joints pop satisfyingly, getting up she trudges to the door. She stops by the door and fixes her hair to the side of her neck to hide the hickey. Checking herself out in the mirror she decided that it is hidden from view.

She opens her door slowly, not bothering to hide her sleepiness. "Hey Caine, Delko."

"Hey Calleigh, can we come in?" Caine asks.

"Yea, no problem. What's up?" she rubs some of the sleep out of her eyes.

They move past her and take a seat on her couch. "Do you guys want anything?"

"No thanks Calleigh, we just want to ask you a favor." Eric pipes up, his face shows nothing but concern and Calleigh knows it's about what he's about to ask.

"We need you to interrogate Esteban on his infatuation with you Calleigh. Eric and I both agreed that only you will be able to get him to talk" Caine seems convinced.

"Why would you say that?" she simply asks. This is what Scott meant when he wanted her as innocent as possible.

"He's infatuated by you, we've noticed since the first time you've interrogated him. I kept a watchful eye on him and I noticed how he looks at you. I've seen that look countless times before, most of them being with stalking cases. If he is indeed the Taunter, he might be going after you next. He went quiet last week, not one body turned up. And no one reported any missing persons."

"How does that prove of an infatuation with me though? He told you why he stops by and looks at my house, he explained everything to you." Calleigh ran her hands through her hair, forgetting about the hickey.

"I seen you've been busy, judging by the hickey on your neck." Eric says, jaw tight.

Shit, shit, shit. "Yea I have been." She states.

"It's fresh, do you have a guest upstairs Calleigh?" She jumps up, defensive now.

"Last time I checked that's none of your business Eric. We're not together anymore, my personal life, my personal business. I will do the interrogation, for you. To be honest I'm just as curious as you are. I've noticed the looks and I want to get this sorted out before it gets blown out of proportion, now if you excuse me, I'm going to get dressed." Calleigh runs upstairs in a huff, hitting herself over the carelessness.

Eric and Horatio exchange looks. "What are you thinking H?"

"She was surprised that we asked her, I was sure O'Shay would say something. This is going to be an interesting turn of events. What do you think about the hickey brother?" Horatio turns his eye to Eric.

Eric sighs heavily, thinking of Calleigh with another man made him angry. It should be him that she's finding joy with, him that should be giving her pleasure, him that should be giving her a hic…

"Wait a minute, she has never and I mean never let anyone give her a hickey. Not John, Jake, even me H. Even ME. She said that they made her feel weird, she said people did it to show possession of one another. And we all know how independent she is." This is getting out of hand for him. They should've said something long ago, instead of waiting for Calleigh to come round.

"So what is she doing sporting one now Eric?" even H seemed surprised by this.

"Are we going?" Calleigh's voice runs out and the two men look up, hoping she didn't hear them talking about her.

"Yea, Calleigh let's go. I'll drop you off after you're done, is that a problem?"

"No Caine it's not." They watch as she heads to the back door of the hummer. With one more look, they climb in and set off for the lab.

Calleigh sat in the back very uncomfortable, she knows by knows that Eric should have already guessed that she does not like hickeys. They were too possessive, as a matter of fact she hated love bites as well. But not only did she give Esteban one, Esteban gave her two.

At least the love bite on her breast can be covered with clothing, problem solved. This hickey, however, is going to have to take a lot of foundation and concealer to cover up.

Looking up she can feel Eric's eyes on her. They made contact with hers and throwing caution to the wind, she gives him a small and apologetic smile. He turns and gives a sorrowful one back.

This is going to be a long day.


	37. Revealing

"Just talk him through and slowly ease your way into the infatuation Calleigh, I don't want him getting spooked." Briefed Horatio for the fifth time in the last hour.

"Yes Caine, I know. I could be in danger" Calleigh replies nonchalantly. Caine want impressed. "This is serious Calleigh, I've been working a theory for the last three weeks and your about to prove it."

"I got you Caine. I'll be as discreet as I possibly can be. I believe you. Esteban is devising a plan, hell if I know, I might be part of it. And I don't want to be part of anything, so I'll ask." She gives him a small smile. They walk together to interrogation, Horatio dropping into the back room to observe silently and her stepping through the door of the room itself.

"Hello Calleigh" comes Esteban's voice, his face painted with a smirk as he shamelessly rakes his eyes up and down, and then back up her body until he reaches her eyes. She smiles back, knowing that he's remembering their little indiscretion from this morning.

"Hello Esteban."

"May I ask why I've been asked to an interrogation? Not that I'm complaining about the interrogator." He adds a wink for special effect and immediately she knows he's up to something.

"I have a question to ask you." She kept her voice neutral, trying to play off the butterflies in her stomach, acting like she usually did whenever she interrogated a criminal. He sits up, interest piqued.

"Oh! A question? You mean a type of question that could've been asked while out on a jog with me?" his face is incredulous. And did he really just mention jogging? Calleigh understands what he's doing, Scott must've told him. All she can do is play along.

"I'm not going out on a jog with you Esteban." Her voice is dead, but a chuckle could be heard.

"Why not? I've been cleared! I'm not the Taunter, therefore not a suspect under investigation." He looks hopeful.

"Esteban -sigh- with you, the only way I can get an answer from you is asking right away. So I'm going to do just that. We've, and by we I mean Caine and the team, as well as I have noticed that you're a bit… infatuated with me. We're curious as to why that might be?" she looks him dead in the eye and he offers a reassuring smile.

He looks at the mirror behind her "Yu can come into the room Caine, I know you're there."

To her surprise Caine and Delko enter the room. Eric takes a seat next to her, body tense. Horatio stands behind her, as to observe Esteban up close. "We're listening." Is all Caine says.

"_Sweetheart, querida,_ listen. You're an undeniably beautiful woman, no one can say otherwise. I'm not infatuated with you though." He is interrupted by a scoff from Delko.

"Anyway, I'm very curious about you. I want to know why and how you tick. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only male, or female that has thought about it before. You're very fascinating. Brains and beauty, a hard combination to find. You amaze me. Simple enough. To be honest, as ive told you before, I love your house, it's beautiful. I always wondered if the person residing inside was just as beautiful as the house. I didn't even know you lived there until Caine asked me about the apparent 'stalking'. Sorry if I frightened you, you must've been freaked.

"I've been accused of being a serial killer. That has some residual damage, my business has been slandered, and any woman I meet tend to turn an eye towards me. You're the only one who actually didn't look at me like that. It was and still is relieving."

Calleigh can hear Caine's low growl. "I've seen the two have you have met and talked. May I ask when?"

The question is directed towards Calleigh. She turns around and with a quick reply "a week and a half ago maybe, I was tying my shoe at a park bench and he stopped for a drink of water. We talked for maybe ten or fifteen minutes." she adds an innocent shrug.

"It was a very enlightening talk. We learned a lot about each other. She's a very good shot. And she threatened me by the way," he adds with a laugh.

"Why'd she threaten you?" Delko asks, eyebrows raised.

"I annoyed her. By just being there." Esteban answers.

"Is this true Calleigh?" Horatio.

"Yea, his presence annoyed me, mostly because I like jogging **alone**. But besides that no he doesn't. He's actually funny to be around. Had I not been jogging the conversation would have dragged on longer."

"Oh wow, you should've told me that, we can get coffee." His smirk blows onto a full blown smile. "Oh and by the way, I think you're on the wrong side of the table Calleigh."

"I realized that the minute they walked in, but thank you for that obvious tip Esteban." She keeps her tone neutral, but she's sure Esteban picked up on her playful deliverance. And if Esteban picked up on it, so did Eric.

"That's enough for now Esteban, I'm sure we'll be seeing you soon enough."

"See you soon then Caine." Esteban ups and leaves, giving each of them a hard look, and giving Calleigh a smooth grin.

Horatio wraps around and gives Calleigh a hard look. "You've met him before. You've spoken to him." It wasn't a question.

"Yes I have, but it wasn't anything like you guys made it out to be. It was a maybe fifteen minute conversation. I didn't see the point in mentioning anything."

"He's funny to be around? Calleigh, he's a serial killer! I think you should pick a better person whose funny." Delko is being very condescending right now.

"You're right, which is why I haven't spoken to him since. And I mean you're right about picking better people, not the serial killer thing. That I can't prove or disprove.

"I've been very…unreasonable as of late. I'm sorry for that, but please don't act like I'm a criminal. I just want to relax as much as possible. Every time I see you guys, I think you're going to ask how I'm doing and I don't want that."

"Calleigh, we care about you. Of course we're going to worry. But we'll lay ff from now on okay." Delko seems very genuine and Calleigh releases her sigh.

"Can I go back home now, I just want to sleep."

"Yea, I'm going to drop you off. Just give me ten minutes okay?"

"Thank you Delko."

Calleigh gets up with a huff and heads to the locker room.

"What do you think H?"

"I don't know brother. I thought that she would be reserved, but she just all out asked him the question." Horatio looks thoughtful for a while before Eric finds the courage to ask him.

"Why is that weird?"

"She knew that he would tell her, so she asked right away. Even though I told her to beat around the bush."

"Maybe she is in a rush to go home. She was sleeping when we picked her up."

"She passed that test to. I was sure O'Shay was feeding her information, or she somehow would know what we were going to do today. But she was completely surprised." H dropped his head in defeat.

"We're losing her Eric, and I don't know what we're losing her to."


	38. Awkward Interruptions

"You know what I just realized H?" Eric says as he walks into the older man's office.

Horatio looks up, surprised to see that Eric is back so early, he figured Eric must've gotten at least something out of Calleigh.

"Esteban called Calleigh sweetheart, and querida." Horatio tilted his head in thought. That is odd, he hadn't caught that before during the interrogation. The last time Horatio had called Calleigh sweetheart, she had screamed at him. But that's a common pet name for people. Many criminals have called Calleigh sweetheart before.

It was querida that set off sparks. Horatio had only heard Eric call Calleigh that, and he just happened upon that. "Esteban is Cuban Eric, is it possible that he just used that term of endearment to tease her?" Horatio needs to see all aspects of the situation before coming up with a theory.

"I thought about it, but when I mentioned the names to her she seemed tense. Then it hit me, it wasn't just that he said querida. It was _how_ he said. Almost as if he was teasing all three of us. H, Esteban was hinting to us that he knows something we don't.

"It still doesn't explain how Calleigh didn't know about the interrogation today. Even Esteban was surprised by it."

Horatio cuts Eric off with a finger, he needed the silence in order to properly think. When they arrived at Calleigh's place earlier, she was obviously sleeping… on the couch. "Listen H, she received a hickey very recently, it couldn't be more than a few hours long. Which means whoever gave it to her was still there at her house. Maybe she's been acting strange because she found a new love interest and she doesn't want us to know anything about it." Eric knows he's reaching, and Horatio's head bows once again in defeat.

Calleigh sinks into her mattress, the bed foreign underneath her. This is a very weird feeling, the feeling of being an alien in your own house. The halls were barren of any warmth that had once bounced off every wall. Her living room, once full of laughter and joy now lays desolate. Her kitchen unused, pots and pans sitting uselessly in the respective cupboard.

Her tour of the house left her drained, sadness overwhelming her. It was like a slap in the face, she's changed. And maybe it wasn't for the better. At first having Esteban focus on her meant he would be less focused on the team. But she managed to alienate herself from them all in the end.

Natalia won't say a word to her, unless it was case related. Ryan, who always looked to her for guidance and approval, sought out Eric instead. Walter kept everything strictly professional. The only one who maintained any sort of communication with her was Tom, and even then it seemed forced.

Eric and Horatio were treating her like a suspect, which she was not denying. Because after all, she is a suspect, they know she knows more than she's letting on.

She rolls over, pulling the sheets over her, attempting to fall asleep. But the memory of what went on earlier plagued her mind. She found herself itching and in good need of a scratch. The way Esteban felt above her was tantalizing, the look of pleasure on his face. He looked complete, like everything in his life had finally fallen into place. She made her fate this morning by having sex with him. She gave herself to him in the most intimate way possible.

There is no doubt in her mind now that she belonged to Esteban, and now there was no doubt in his either.

It was half past three when she felt the bed dip. In her sleep induced haze she could make out the smell of coconut. "Esteban?"

"Yea?" came his tired reply. "We never went on a jog together."

His chuckle caused her to laugh and she folded herself against him, resting her head on his chest. Her ear right above his heart, his hands through her hair. "Yea, we might want to start doing that, to look convincing. I have another marathon I have to run. That is an amazing excuse."

"Yea, that sounds like a plan. I have work, so I'm going to sleep." Her words were met with a yawn.

Esteban continued to run his hands through her hair, listening to her breathing even out. This morning was amazing, a bit rushed but amazing nevertheless.

She felt like nothing he's ever felt before. Never before has he felt such love for another person before, something so strong. He buries his nose in her hair and takes a deep breath, the vanilla beginning to mix with his coconut scent naturally. Esteban felt another surge of pride hit him as he realized Leigh is starting to smell like him, that he smelled like her, that their scents were mixing.

She cuddles more into him and he falls asleep to her deep calming breaths.

Calleigh wakes up to an empty bed, her empty bed. And for a minute she swears that she was just dreaming, that everything she has been through for the past two months have been a scary nightmare that she couldn't get out of. And for a second she's disappointed.

Until Esteban walks through her door with a food tray in his hands. Her disappointment faded quickly and when he places the tray on her bed, she reaches up and gives him a deep kiss. He moans and breaks the kiss, moving the tray to the nightstand.

He pushes her gently onto the bed, legs hanging off the side. "I have to go to work" came her feeble excuse.

"In two hours" he teases back, slipping his hand beneath the shirt she wore. He is going to take his time, as much as he possibly can. He slips his tongue past her lips and she moans out. Their lips interlock and their tongues find each other. She bites his lip and he groans in her mouth. He sucks on her tongue before breaking for air.

He slips his hands up, and pushes the shirt over her head. Her breasts become exposed and he groans at the sight of her rose buds. He suckles against her neck, refreshing the hickey on her neck. "Really?" came Calleigh faux-complaint.

He lets out a small laugh and continues his trail downwards. On her collarbone he anoints her with a fresher hickey, relishing in her hitch in breathing. Her nails teased the back of his neck, scratching lightly in anticipation. Her breaths were uneasy, telling him that Leigh is enjoying his actions.

His lips travel down further down until he comes across her love bite, tracing the mark with his tongue. Her shaky moan gives him the spirit to tease her. Peppering kissing around the bud three times before she runs her hands through his hair tugging at the roots to her nipple. He brought his mouth across and slowly took it into his mouth. Her whimper caused a throb below and he suckled harder on her ample flesh.

"Mmm" came her voice from above and Esteban brings his hand up to pleasure both breasts at once. She lets out a groan of frustration when he kisses his way down her belly, pausing at her belly button, leaving another hickey in the wake of the other three. Her muscles jump as his kisses go lower. He pulls her underwear down her legs and kisses his way up her calf.

She tenses just as he reaches her center. "Too much?" he asks, wanting her to feel as comfortable as he is. "Yea, just go slow." He waits until she meets his eyes before lowering his mouth to her cleft.

He gives one lick and she thrusts her hips into his mouth with a cry. He lowers her hips and keeps a hand on them to steady her. "Sorry" she says, the little blood she had left reaching her cheeks to form a blush.

"Don't be." He replies smoothly. He lowers his mouth to the entrance of her depths and gives it a worshipping kiss. He brings his tongue to her clit and she gives a high pitched moan. He suckle her and brought a hand to her breasts. She bucks her hips back up and he pushes a hand back down on her hips. When she relaxes he moves his hand from her breasts to her center. Teasing the entrance with a finger before teasing his way through. A rush of moisture meets and coats his finger, giving him another ego boost. He gives her another finger after a strangled "Please Esteban" leaves her mouth. He sucks and thrusts at the same time and she loses it.

Her moans grow louder and she comes with a satiated sigh.

"That was great" she comments on a sweet, syrupy sigh. Esteban kisses his way back up, stopping at each of her breasts for a moment before planting a kiss on her lips.

"It's supposed to be."

They were interrupted by her doorbell ringing. They ignore it and continue to kiss one another until another ring rings out, and then another, and then another. "You have to be kidding me." came both of their voices.

Eric makes an effort to pick Calleigh up early, he had wanted to talk to her since their quiet ride in the hummer yesterday. He figured if she was home, she'd be more comfortable. After receiving no answer from Calleigh, he makes his way indoors with his spare key.

Reaching her room door the sound of her moan startles him. That definitely was not a moan in pain, in fact he is very familiar with that moan. The sound of her finding release reaches his ear and he blushes deeply. This is a very intimate moment for her, and he'd be dammed if she heard him out here.

Making his way back downstairs, Eric locks the door and rings the doorbell. He doesn't feel bad at all and whatever fury he's going to receive is going to be worth it. He repeatedly rings the bell in 30 second intervals before he hears her call out.

Stepping back he jumps as she flings the door open, eyes wide in rage. "What. Do. You. Want. Eric?" her voice drips with acid. She covered herself "I just wanted to ask how you were doing. Yesterday must've been rough."

At one look at her face, Eric knew his jealousy had gotten the better of him. He should've just left.

Her face isn't blank like it usually was. She showed red hot anger, eyes burning with the fury of a thousand women. He's never even seen his mother this angry before. "Leave." Eric backs up and heads straight for the hummer not looking back for his life. He hears the door slam shut and he drives off in a hurry.

Esteban waits in bed, slowly stroking himself through his boxers, the anticipation keeping him from going soft. She storms back into the room, angry. "You okay?" he asks softly, before being pushed on the bed. She straddles his lap, dipping her head in a fierce kiss. Her lips were bruising against his. Teeth biting against his lip. She shows her dominance by forcing her tongue in his mouth. She moans heavy and breaks the kiss. Trailing wet kisses down his jawline, nipping his jaw in the process.

She makes a trail of hickeys down his neck, and when he reaches her chest Esteban pulls her up for a kiss.

She moans against his lips. She presses herself against his hips, reminding him that he's still clothed. Through some major gym work, he manages to work his underwear down his legs. She slides herself against him, grinding her moist center against his rod. "Don't tease me like that Leigh."

Her smirk is enough to rile him up, and he grinds along with her, causing her to bite her lip with a moan.

He tries to roll them over but she lifts her hips and slams down. "Uh, uh, uh. Lay down, I… want, no I need this right now." Her voice seemed stretched and strained. She probably wants to feel like she's in control for once. "Yea Leigh. Whatever you want, I just want you to be happy." He wipes the tear that slid from her eye. She nuzzles into his palm before sinking down on his length.

Calleigh stills on his length, holding in a breath, shakily releasing it. He's pretty sure his breath matches hers as being one with her is the best feeling anyone could ever experience. He holds back as much as he can and caresses her cheek once again. "You feel like heaven Leigh, you feel perfect. So perfect."

"You feel amazing as well, just stay still a little longer okay." She falls to her elbows and rests her head in the crook of his neck. After a minute she begins to slowly winds her hips against his, moaning at each pass. Esteban closes his eyes, feeling the pleasure tingle at the base of his spine.

He slides his hand down her back, placing his hands around her hips, helping her grind down on him. She sits up and places her hands on either side of his head. She rises her hips and slams them back down on him. She cries out and repeats her actions over and over again.

She's more vocal this time, his name more than a mantra on her tongue. She sits up fully, leaning back and exposing her breasts to his eyes, exposing the actions taking place between her thighs. His eyes rake from her head tilted back in pleasure, hair tickling his thighs. To her breasts bouncing with every one of their meeting thrusts. To his member sawing in and out of her sweet body.

She's so small that his hands are basically wrapped around her body. All he has to do is reach a thumb down and he begins to rub her clit, hard. "Oh yes Esteban. That feels soooo good."

She thrusts harder and he flips them over. She groans her complaint, "I know Leigh, but let me take care of you." She grabs his hair and pulls him in for a kiss, their tongues meeting in a frenzy that matched their hips. He brings one of her knees up to change the angle and in an instance is thrusting against her cervix. She goes buck wild and orgasms around him. He continues to thrust against her, prolonging her pleasure and stretching his.

"Oh god Leigh, I can't hold on much longer." He moans against her neck, she raises her other leg up and wraps it round his waist, letting him pound into her harder. "Let go." She whispers before he came hard inside her, coating her with his seed. He feels her cavern squeeze him once more in another glorious orgasm and she buries her head in his neck "Esteban" she sighs.

He rolls them over once again and she rests her head on his chest. Running his hands through her hair for twenty minutes, he looks over and realizes she has to get up now.

"Get up Leigh, you have to go to work." She looks him in the eyes and plants a kiss on his lips. "I guess."

She gets up and takes a shower, leaving him in her bed. He slips his boxers back on and finds a pair of sweats he left in her closet in case. She gets out in record time, however, not giving him the time to reheat her coffee. She grabs her muffin and takes a bite. "Thank you."

"No prob, have a good day at work"

"Thanks" she walks over to him planting a kiss on his lips. "Love you, see you at home later." And with that she's rushing downstairs and through the door. He hears her start her car and he lays back down in her bed, reliving their escapade once again. He finishes on her bed and takes a shower. The next two weeks are going to be trying, and the ball was already rolling. Come the next 14 days, Caine's team will be pushed to the brink and Esteban will be in prison.


	39. The Last Navarro

(So I didn't like the whole missing void of the Navarro family set up, so I inserted a bit.)

Natalia sits across from a startled Eric, his face blanched in terror. "What happened?"

Eric blushes "I um. Remember yesterday you said that I should check on Calleigh?" she nods her head in affirmation.

"Well I did, earlier this morning. I was knocking for ten minutes and I figured something's up."

"She could've been sleeping." Natalia offers.

"Yea I thought so too, but as I reached her room door I heard her moan." His face drops and he blushes even redder.

"She was having sex with another man"

Natalia's heart broke at his quiet declaration. She however, wasn't blind to the look of pure jealousy that crossed through his eyes. "Are you sure she wasn't you know…by herself?" Eric's eyes snap up in what looks like a hopeful stare, but then drops as logic hits him.

"No, yesterday H and I went to pick her up and she had a hickey on her neck, and the guy she was with was still upstairs. I left after hearing her moan and was a little juvenile and rang her doorbell every thirty seconds. I've never seen her so angry before. She looked like she was going to shoot me.

"I left in a heartbeat." Eric looks ashamed now. Natalia walked around the table and patted his back.

"It'll get easier Eric. If she's with a guy then maybe Esteban hasn't gotten to her yet. She's just working through things right now. Just give her time. Something she allowed us to have, it's her turn to go through self-doubt. When she's ready she'll come back to us."

They look up as the whole team congregates in the break room, Calleigh coming in last and sitting on a stool by herself. Horatio described how the Taunter case is being put on hold and that they can break off and pay more attention to the other cases. Everyone sighs a sigh of relief and they make their way back out, heading to another scene.

Natalia looks back at Calleigh, she seems generally happier about anything and the guy that she got with is doing wonders for her. Eric looks back and seems to have the same thought as she but with a hint of jealousy. It must be hard for him to realize that he's not the one giving her pleasure and safety. Men tend to hate their exes new flame, and with Eric's track record it is not surprising that he finds Calleigh's mood very deflating to his ego.

"It'll get better Eric." Natalia pats his arms and they head out.

Calleigh plops down on their bed later that night. Wishing that people could just quit doing illegal things for at least one day. "Hello there mi hija" came a new voice, it was softer than abuela's, angelic even. The Cuban accent was there and Calleigh turned slowly towards the voice.

A woman stands at the doorway, clad in an orange sundress. Her light brown hair tickled the small of her back, accenting the oval shaped face. Stepping into the room Calleigh looks into the darker green eyes of this mysterious woman. But she isn't so mysterious, not one bit, she could see Esteban's nose, his ears, and even his eye shape.

Abuela talked very little about this woman during their week together. Calleigh's briefly seen her in pictures in the room, but seeing her in person barely compared to the pictures. According to Abuela, Claudia, is a soft and gentle lady. One who does nothing but ladylike things and carries herself as such. Kevin comes and weaves himself around her legs, looking for attention. Getting up Calleigh walks over and picks up Kevin, giving the older woman a soft smile. "Hello Mami"

The woman in front of Calleigh smiles back, pleased that she knows her place (as Abuela would put it).

"I see your Abuela has kept you in the loop babygirl. Listen here okay, I have one simple rule. And that's to do as you're told. That stunt you pulled a few weeks back is not something I will ever tolerate. Though I may look all soft and dainty, I will show you in less than a second who is your boss and who owns you."

Her voice is soft, her face hard. Calleigh swallows hard, this woman is very intimidating. Never before did she see someone so gentle be as threatening as this woman. Calleigh takes a step towards the woman and reaches her hand up, stroking the woman's face gently.

Claudia smiles at her and laces their fingers together. She walks out of Esteban's room, down the hall and into another wing of the house, her wing. Babygirl is following behind her obediently, still holding that kitten of hers. The woman holding the kitten surpasses everything Claudia thought her to be. Beautiful is putting it lightly, and the amount of sheer determination in the blonde's eyes told her that Calleigh is not going down without a fight.

No matter how complacent this woman is, Claudia is sure that the spitfire will speak her mind. Stepping into her room, Calleigh gasps. Although this family is very close, they have separate wings. Claudia thought of it as showy, but she relishes the times when she has to have alone time. Her room spoke of her truly feminine nature, soft colors adorn her wall, playing off the softer tone of her furniture. The bed is extra soft, a cloud to lay on.

"It's beautiful" Babygirl says. "Thank you."

Claudia gathers clothes and heads for a shower, with a warning glance at babygirl.

Calleigh sinks into the bed after Mami goes for a shower. Laying down, she takes in the scent of lavender, calming and collecting. Kevin jumps on the floor and slinks out of the room without further notice.

Yawning, she closes her eyes for a quick second, today was far too long. The case boring her to no end. The suicidal genius did invent a very cool bullet however. The only interesting thing to happen today. Besides Ryan and Walter's shared enjoyment over the voice controlled tv.

The bed dipping brought her from her thoughts. Mami slips under the covers prompting Calleigh to do the same. The woman begins the familiar act of running her hands through her hair. Calleigh hesitantly makes her way to Mami's chest, snuggling in. the woman continues caressing her, beginning to hum, Calleigh felt herself floating. Between Mami's actions, the humming especially, the soft sheets around her, and the smell of lavender, Calleigh is in heaven.

The bed dips once again and Calleigh opens her eyes to see Papi climbing in the bed. Not moving, Calleigh watches as he leans over and passionately kisses Mami. Settling back down, Papi gives her a kiss on the forehead and begins the same caressing as Mami and Calleigh finds herself drifting off to sleep. Barely catching the pair declaring their love for each other, barely catching the pair declare their love for her.


	40. Where the Hell?

Esteban finds himself leaning against his kitchen counter… alone. Where everyone else is Esteban had no clue. He checked everywhere in the house, for once unhappy about its large size. Why he had to spend the night alone is lost upon him.

The sound of footfalls catch his attention however, before he can look behind him, arms wrap around his waist. "Morning Esteban." Leigh's voice caresses him in a blanket of sweet southern honey.

"Where the hell were you this entire time?" he spins around and they share a kiss before he pulls away, expecting an answer.

"She was with me mi hijo."

He turns and heads straight to his mother. It's been a while since she's last visited and Esteban missed her this past four months.

Calleigh stares as Esteban is coddled by Mami. She's then again mystified at how he can be so caring and loving, to violent and incredibly scary.

She heads upstairs to go and get ready for work.

Esteban looks up just in time for Leigh to make her way upstairs. Turning back to his mother he shoots a suspicious look. "What are you doing here so early?"

She gives him a warm smile. "Oh Esteban, I'm just visiting you now, because I won't be able to later. If you planned all this jazz up, then I want to see my baby boy. Seeing as you're going to be gone. As well as check out this new flame of yours.

"And what do you think Mami?" he's nervous at this point. Getting approval from Mami meant the world to him.

"She's perfect for you. Steadfast and sure. Not like those other women of yours. Calleigh has a backbone and isn't so… boring."

Leigh makes her way back downstairs, dressed for work. With Leigh out of the house, they will be better abled to plan this to the t.

Scott knocks not even five seconds later and with a wave Leigh is off. Mami looks over at him.

"So Esteban how do you plan on going through with all this? How on earth are you going to convince Calleigh to come with us?"

Esteban smirks. "Well, she already is with us to the end. So if it all works out, she's going to be on a plane with you, Papi, and Abuela to Cuba by the end of this month."

(Short chapter, hella short even by my standards. Update tomorrow morning.)


	41. What Did You Expect Me to Do?

**(AN: And so this fc dwindles down to these last few chapters! All the following chapters are now based off of Rest in Pieces. The closing of the Taunter Cases have all amounted to this)**

**2 Weeks Later**

Calleigh woke up to the bed dipping, looking over she sees 4:09 in big red numbers. She sits up just in time for Esteban to flop down onto the bed. "You okay?"

He looks at her with red rimmed eyes, he's been crying. She lightly runs her hand up and down his back in comfort. "Yea I will be. Listen, I need you to not ask questions."

She cocks her head in question. "Forgive me but what?"

His chuckle resonates throughout the room. "It's coming to an end, your next case is going to be one of mine. No questions Calleigh. I'm not telling you anything, the team is going to be looking at you, trying to see if you know more than what you're letting on. I want you to stay as confused as them. Scott's going to pick you up and we'll be on our way." Calleigh felt her breath hitch.

This is it. This is as far as she's going, as far as she plans on going at least. Everything she's done in the last three months to stay alive has dwindled down to this. Now her own question is imminent, do I stay with the Navarro's, or go back to the team?

The team can offer her security as well as something to do, as working in CSI is a great thing for her. Being able to change people's lives hopefully for the better, finding closure for innocent victims and their families. It is amazing, being able to help someone.

The team by now must hate her, no doubt about that. She's done nothing but throw them for many loops. Her behavior was and continues to be very erratic according to her, so it must've been worse for the team. If she stayed then the team as well as the whole entire lab will hate her. She knows for a fact that as patient as the lab's inhabitants are, they have a leash.

She's just another Reggie or Stetler at this point.

But if she stays with the Navarro's, she'll be happy. She already is happy now. She doesn't have to work another day in her life, like an early retirement. She doesn't have to pick up after anyone else. In fact people pick up after her now. Actually, Calleigh is basically an heiress.

But besides all that, she has to be suffering mentally. Stockholm syndrome caught her in its grasp surely, and not only that. All the Navarro's have a strict control over her, she won't actually be able to fully enjoy herself would she? They keep her on a short string now, seeing as she's working with the team. But if the team disappeared, would she be left alone per say?

Either way she's betraying the team, and now she has to choose between the team, who would _eventually _forgive her. Or the crime family that offers her full protection as well as stability.

"You thinking in there? Having second thoughts?" his voice comes out of nowhere.

"And if I am?" she challenges.

"I'd support your decision. I just want you to be happy." He kisses her forehead and he moves them to spoon. "You deserve that much".

"Okay." Her voice is reassuring both for her and him. Knowing that she's going to get called in soon she relaxes and falls back asleep.

Calleigh found herself breathing extremely hard. Esteban had killed or at least tried to these two people. Kirk was able to identify him and Calleigh was disappointed about the racial profiling. Ever since Esteban woke her up at four in the morning, she's been thinking about what going to happen.

On one hand, they could've caught Esteban and she would be "liberated" from the Navarro grasp. On the other, she could live life more than comfortably and not have a care in the world.

It comes down to betraying the team, or betraying the Navarro's.

If she betrayed the Navarro's then her invincibility would be lifted, she could be fair game for any other crime syndicate looking for an upper hand. And that would be a lot worse than what she finds herself in right now. She chose to follow along with Esteban to stay alive, and she caught herself in a rut. She should've gotten out of this a long time ago.

But at least she found out what happened to some people of the family. She knows more than anyone else does about the family. The last two weeks has been very enlightening. It was obvious that this family plan things through in great detail. Elated that Calleigh is a CSI, they asked her about different procedures and standard waiting times for results. They even asked about the court hearings, rulings, and different stops the judge can take.

She supplied this knowledge, out of fright in first, scared of what they might do if she disobeyed. Then it was cool to finally know more about something than these people.

However, when the conversation reached the team, Calleigh became more clipped. Other than publically known details, she failed to tell the Navarro's any personal information on the team. She was paraded on her loyalty, they responded with approval, telling her she'd better treat them the same if she were to be questioned today.

Looking down at the photo, Calleigh found herself overwhelmed by the bones buried within the sand.

So that's what happened to granddaddy Navarro. Murdered by either Abuela or Papi. Abuela didn't mention much about Alfredo, but from what Calleigh understands, he was a good cut man. One who didn't "take a dip into the deep end."

She understood back then that Abuela meant that he didn't find going into the world of crime was best suit for their family.

Now she understood that not only did Alfredo not want to enter the crime world, but that he was going to break away completely from their business. No doubt that's what this really is about. Abuela hates anyone who goes against whatever she says, and Alfredo definitely put up enough for her to kill him as a solution.

She did do well for herself, becoming a multi-millionaire, ensuring nothing but wealth and success for the following generations.

Looking down at the yacht club pin that was buried with his father's body. She looks up just as her name is being called. She sighs heavily and goes off to look for Eric.

She sees him looking confused over what appeared to be a heel of a shoe. Walking in Calleigh steels herself for what lays ahead.

"You were asking for me?" Calleigh walks closer, her voice bubbly and teasing. Eric looks up surprised, but answers just as happily as she did. "Yea, I need a… I need a shoe expert." He looks at her hopefully.

"That's me." she holds her hands up in a mocking manner. "High heels specifically" Eric leans closer, she can hear his heart pounding in his nervousness. "That's my area" she steps closer, keeping the mood light, reassuring him.

She missed this, missed hi. They easily bantered back and forth all the time. But since Esteban started "introducing" himself, Eric and her had broken apart. He gives her a small smile and she finds herself smiling back. "Well, yea. I got this heel and I have no idea where or what to look for."

She watches him as he searches through the shoe website and he looks lost. After steering him in the right direction, the mood drops.

"Eric, I don't think going to Elizabeth is going to be a smart idea. But if you insist on doing it, I can't stop you." She looks at him and throws a shrug in.

"Well, it's not like you've been paying much attention to us lately, but I will take care of this. It's all on me." his face is angry, she backs away slowly and leaves the room, ready for this to blow over.

Horatio looks at Calleigh surveying the evidence. She definitely did not know about the bodies this morning, but she did seem to have recognized something about the crime. Something fairly intimate.

He has entertained Calleigh being taken into the Navarro family, but he knew she wouldn't have gotten this far without expunging any details. Or maybe she has and he hadn't seen any signs.

The last two weeks, Calleigh has been very happy. Her mood hadn't shifted and she didn't seem off the handle. The hickey on her neck faded away slowly. Almost as if whoever gave it to her kept sucking on that area. But other than that, she hadn't been any different.

No one dared to ask her any questions, fearing that she'd explode like she did with him. Calleigh has been more normal than she had been weeks before.

Yet whenever they mentioned the Taunter, she'd lock up and not say anything. Always looking down whenever Esteban's name was mentioned.

Which told Horatio that something indeed was happening between her and that monster. Maybe she had sex with him and was hiding the fact away from him. That could be it. She exhibits all of the signs of an indiscretion. He'd have to ask her later.

But that doesn't explain her behavior with the bathed prostitute. She was squeamish around the body, choosing to look directly at the evidence and not the victim. If Calleigh knew the woman she didn't let on. Maybe she was hiding the familiarity because of Abigail Nunez.

Whatever the reason, she wasn't saying. He'd respect her privacy for now, but it seems like the Navarro family are going to take up his time right now.

Vina Navarro is the type of woman Horatio always tries to avoid. Manipulative and headstrong, once she gets a whiff, she's all over you. Vina is a female version of himself and that alone told him that maybe Calleigh was right. The Navarro's may be too much for him to overthrow. But it wasn't just him, he had the team behind him.

That is enough to get him through whatever curveball the family could throw. Because he knows that the team is loyal, he knows that they will help him if he gave the word. He knows he can count on them no matter what's going on.

Horatio has never questioned the unity of the team before. Not until this Taunter case has popped up at least. His team had been shaken up, but seeing as the end is near they're brightening up. Calleigh however seems a bit apprehensive. Something is definitely up, she knows something that didn't. And Horatio is tired of her beating around the bush.

"You called Horatio?" he turns his head at her, eyes cast downward.

"Yea sit down." She sinks slowly, apprehensive already.

"What's up?" her head tilts in curiosity.

"Listen Calleigh, I know you well enough to not get straight to the point. What do you know?"

Her head jerks back in surprise. She was not expecting that. "What do you mean?"

He sighs heavily, this is going to be hard for him. "We, the team and I, have noticed your odd behavior as of late. Now you know I trust you inexplicitly but this is behavior that I cannot put up with."

"Has it been affecting my work?" she seems accusing.

"No of course not."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm worried about you. Something seems to be up with you. And before I asked you as a friend. Now, I'm asking you as a boss. Now Ms. Duquesne, what…do…you…know? And no semantics, you know what I'm talking about."

She gives him a pointed stare, she takes a deep breath and bites her lip. Completely opposite reactions.

"Well Lieutenant, I can tell you that I've met both Diego and Esteban Navarro. They jog together sometimes, and I met up with them a few times in the last two weeks. As to 'what I know', they are a pretty powerful family. Diego has a seat in City Hall, a great seating. I know that they can move things along only the way someone with high status can. They're you basically, once they want something they'll do anything to obtain it."

"Like you?" she looks up sharply at this. A laugh on her lips slowly meet his ears. She falls forward as the laughs rack her system. Her reaction scares him, he's never heard her laugh this hard before.

"Are you finding the fact that the Navarro's yet again slipped from our hands funny? That more people's lives are going to be in danger?" he felt himself losing his temper. She is getting out of hand and she needs to learn a lesson.

He has always had a soft spot for her. He being sort of an adoptive father since her's left Miami over seven years ago. He knew what it was like to grow up in a house of uncertainty and fending after himself. They had a mutual bond over having survived there childhood with only mental scars. That and her everlasting sunshine brought light to his day, every day.

But lately her behavior has been very iffy. Walking around on eggshells with everyone and holding secrets.

Her laughter grows heavier and it takes her time to recuperate, wiping tears that have accumulated. She takes a deep breath before answering. "No that's not funny. I just didn't expect any of that to come out of your mouth. Whoo I'm sorry, I've just been a wreck lately. Can I ask you something?" her voice rang sharply in his ears. "Yes."

"How would you react to me leaving?" now it's his turn to be surprised.

"Excuse me?"

"How would you feel if I handed you my letter of resignation?" all the previous laughter greatly contrasted her serious tone now.

"It depends why."

"I'm tired. Tired of fighting for a cause I once believed in. tired of all of this running around, late nights, and barely recognizably positive results. Maybe I'm just tired of giving my life to this job and getting nothing but hospital bills in return. I'm tired Horatio."

"There's more to that Calleigh. If you're going to resign, you better do a better job at it. I love you, do you know that?" she tears up at his declaration.

"Yea, I know. But saying only after I decide to leave isn't a smart move Horatio. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, I can assure you as much. I just want you to know what I've been thinking about since Abigail was killed by that bastard." He interrupts her, she made a mistake.

"And who would that bastard be Calleigh?" she catches herself and immediately shuts down, her face becoming stoic. _And that's the smoking gun._

"I am speaking as a third party person. I don't know who that bastard is." She looks away, a clear sign that she may be lying. He isn't completely convinced until she bites her lip and puts a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're lying." He states simply.

"I may be, but it doesn't stop me from not knowing who killed Abigail. You're guess is as good as mine and none of us have a clue as to who could've done it." Horatio sighs deeply.

"You know that vomit we found in the wound track? It matched to you, Natalia was able to replicate some of the viable DNA and you popped up on the screen." He turns his eyes towards her, accusing.

"Oh okay."

"Okay? I tell you we have your DNA on a murdered woman, and all you can say is 'Oh okay'?"

She gives a shrug and looks him straight in the eyes. "Well yea, what else am I supposed to say? What did you expect me to do?" looking up he sees Chief Collins and O'Shay walk in. "Ms. Duquesne you are hereby suspended, active immediately, give us your firearm and badge please."

Horatio looks over to see Calleigh remove her badge without hesitating "the gun isn't standard issue, it's mine." And with that she gets up and walks to the door. "I'm going to head to my house. See you whenever." She walks out giving Horatio one last pleading look, and Horatio turns his angry eyes towards the two men.

"We overstepped yes, but there is a bigger scene happening right now Horatio. The Navarro's have been stirring the pot with all of you guys in it. With this DNA evidence, we can show the court how far their hands can reach. CSI Owens initially found the vomit am I correct?" Chief Collins gives him a long stare.

"Yes sir." He only replies.

"Good." And like that Collins and O'Shay leave without another word. Leaving Horatio to his thoughts.

He was right the entire time, the Navarro's had a hold on Calleigh and while she seems to be fighting him through and through, she wants him to help her and she doesn't know how.


	42. What's Happening?

Horatio and Eric make their way over to Calleigh's house. After catching the team up with recent events, they both decided that heading over to her place would seem like the best option right now.

"You really think that Calleigh was taken by Esteban or Diego?" Eric asks nervously. Horatio can hear the shaking in his voice and he immediately saddens. Eric and Calleigh were the only ones left, the only original ones left. Everyone else either died or left at their own violation, and Horatio didn't want that to happen to Calleigh.

"Yea, I'm sure of it. You should've seen her Eric, she was hysterical. Something bigger is happening even the Chief said so. He also said that they are going to use the DNA evidence to show how far the Navarro's reach has gone. Calleigh certainly isn't the one killing these women unless she has a split personality. So the only explanation left is that the Navarro's somehow got to her and took her to witness a murder. What they wanted to accomplish I have no idea, I'm going to ask Calleigh right now."

Eric nods his head and they slowly walk up to her front door. Deciding that knocking isn't a smart move, Horatio goes straight for his key. Her house is way too silent for his liking. Not the silent relevant to noise, but not lived in at all. Though there isn't any dust or dirt evident, he's been a CSI long enough to know the difference between kept and unkempt as well as lived in and uninhabited.

She has the same magazine from over two months ago on her coffee table, her dvd and cd collection has remained untouched. And while Calleigh is known to redecorate almost every two months, her living room remains the same as it had since the last time he's been there even in passing.

That and her furniture made marking in the carpet from the long duration of time it's been there. Stepping into her kitchen he's thrown back by the lack of food. As thin as Calleigh is, she's fit and Horatio knows that she would at least have some sort of nourishment in her fridge.

Eric shows the same face as he steps closer. "It's empty H" is all he says. Nodding, they make their way to her bedroom. Her sobs can be heard through her door, and Horatio's heart drops. He signals Eric to wait and he opens the door slowly.

"Sweetheart?" he says softly as to not frighten her. He walks in and sees the news playing on her television. Diego Navarro's face pops up on screen and the voice of the anchor stating his current status of critical made Calleigh sob harder.

He turns back to look and Eric, who is just as perplexed as him. The way Calleigh is crying suggests that she knows Diego on a more personal level.

She looks up at him and dissolves into hysteria. Horatio makes his way over and tries to comfort her but she's unresponsive to him. Eric tries and she does nothing but tense and try to push him away.

"Just leave me alone please, I just want to be alone. I can never be alone." She grabs her legs and curl up into a ball, rocking back and forth. Horatio tries one last time and runs his hand through her hair and she calms down. Looking up she sees him and breaks down again. "We'll be back later today Calleigh. We're going to investigate Esteban's torture chamber. It turns out they've been using those lollipops as keys."

She looks at him and he can see the guilt swimming through her eyes and he realizes that she was already aware of it. "We're going to assign you protective detail, but seeing how busy we seem to be, they won't be here for another two and a half hours. Hold out until then okay?" she nods and returns to sobbing uncontrollably. They leave with a farewell and as they drive off a sinking feeling settles over Horatio. "You feel that too?" questions Eric. They share looks before shaking it off and heading towards the garage of torture.

Looking around the garage all Eric can see is family heirlooms from Cuba, different types of cars as well as small boats. As they make their way further back, Eric sees Horatio pull out a pipe and the whole wall follows. They step in one by one covering one another and Natalia is the first one to gasp. The room was empty save for a curtain of plastic. In the middle, a lone table stands accompanied by a tray filled with different surgical equipment.

No question, this is where Esteban does his killing. Looking around the room there is no other evidence. But the fact that this chamber has been found in the Navarro's garage is enough for an arrest. It is finally dwindling down to this. To find direct evidence of Esteban's involvement in the crimes.

Horatio sits back and smiles, giving Esteban a wink as the man is being carted away by officers. He finally put Esteban behind bars, and the Navarro's have been scattered. But why on earth were they not worried about it. One more look at Esteban's face has Horatio wiping the grin off of his. Esteban is way too calm for someone who just had everything ripped from him.

Right when Horatio thought this was over, he knew that it really just picked up. Something else is happening and he needs to get more information.

"Congratulations Horatio" he turns to see vina and he makes his way over to her. "I think you should be the one celebrating vina." He decides to take a gamble.

"Why should I? My grandson has just been arrested for horrendous crimes." She is for once completely clueless.

"Because your son is awake." Her look of surprise is enough to tip him off.

"Oh how great! I should go and visit him." Her concern is anything but generous.

"Yea and he's talking. About may things, including his recent adventure of ending up in the hospital." He's taking a big gamble doing this, she's spooked. Maybe she'll make a mistake but instead she bids him a farewell and walks away.

Horatio smiles small, this might be a small step in the right direction for the team.

Eric and the team make their way into the Navarro mansion. Nervousness dripping off all of them. They found nothing out of the ordinary on the first floor, but as they made their way upstairs the feeling of dread got heavier.

They first step to the right wing, deciding that it seemed sketchier. They happen upon a very soft and feminine room, soft cream walls and furniture. And they find nothing. They assumed it was a vigil for the Esteban's mother, due to the fact that it hadn't been lived in for a while.

They make their way across the hall and fall upon Diego's room, and that's when they hit pay dirt. His room was scattered with long blonde hair, similar to Calleigh's. Eric and Natalia share a look between each other. "How bad is this Eric? Her DNA popped up on the throw up from the washed body. How deep into this is she?" Natalia looks concerned for Calleigh.

For the past two months Natalia has been very hostile towards Calleigh, if they even talked. But Eric knew that she deeply cared for the senior CSI and Eric knew Natalia had to be feeling bad right now. "She must've gotten pretty deep, but this is only the father's room. We still have to check out Esteban's." they both look up as Walter's booming voice beckons for them to come.

They make their way through the hallways and head into what they assumed to be Esteban's room. Walters stood over the unmade bed with a black light. "Semen, blood, as well as vaginal fluid can clearly be seen on the bed sheets. As well as long blonde hair."

Eric didn't pay any attention to what was going on in front of him, yea he heard Walter, but something else that caught his attention. On top of the hamper laid a green nightie, a familiar green nightie.

"This is Calleigh's. This is her favorite nightgown. She told me and Horatio that she thought it was missing. What is it doing here?"

Walter and Natalia turn to look at him, their faces grave.


	43. 14 Steps

**(AN:I'm sorry guys. Leave a review if you so wish! Or drop a message andI will get back to you.)**

"Eric, I'm heading over to Calleigh's place now!" Horatio drives like a maniac down the streets making his way to her place in record time. He doesn't even bother to close the door to the hummer.

Two patrolmen make their way towards him. "Lieutenant, there is no movement at all. At first we thought she was staying in her bedroom but when we made rounds we saw that she wasn't in there." Horatio turns slowly towards the men, who in turn take a step back. Even though they kept him updated, it was Eric's voice telling him about the evidence in the Navarro house that had him spooked.

"She must've left before we arrived, we were backed up this whole morning." The patrolman offers. And Horatio gives them a nod, telling them that he isn't angry.

Throwing the door open, he makes his way straight to the bedroom, only to find it empty. Her phone laid on the nightstand, everything in its rightful place. The unmade bed tips him off though. Her sheets lay half on the floor. A clear sign of a struggle. This is not good.

Turning around carefully, he expects to trip over Kevin, who took an immediate liking to him, and he only trips over himself.

"Wait a minute."

He hops back in the hummer, giving the patrolmen a quick direction of their job description "Look out for her, and call me at any little sign." He meets with Eric at the front of the Navarro household and without a word heads towards the guest bathroom. "What's up H?"

Stopping at the door he notices the doorframe. "You see this, this isn't right." Horatio simply states.

"What do you mean?" Eric asks, trying to catch up.

"Vina said that Diego tried to break the door down, but the frame is in shape, not a thing out of place. Not even broken into. How can you break down a door, without causing damage?" Eric's jaw sets tightly.

"Did you find Kevin H? We found cat food, as well as cat hairs all over this place, the same color as Kevin's"

"Eric. When I went over to her place she was gone. Before you can ask, I didn't call her. Her phone was lying on her nightstand. As for the cat, no I didn't see him. That's what had me thinking. She rejected the both of us trying to comfort her. She knew patrol was backed up, and now she's missing." He doesn't finish his sentence.

"She either went off on her own, or she called someone to get her." Eric follows along, not liking the situation at all.

"Where's Vina? You'd think she'd be here trying to 'help' us, don't you think?" Horatio gives Eric a grave look. If they both were thinking the same thing, they would be finding Calleigh's body within the next week.

"Please tell me we won't be looking for her body any time soon Horatio." Tears well in Eric's eyes.

Before Horatio could answer, his phone rings.

Calleigh can't control the magnitude of sobs that wrack her body. Horatio and Eric tried to calm her but she couldn't accept it. They weren't **them.** When Horatio ran his hand through her hair, the familiarity calmed her, but when she looked at him, he wasn't Papi.

No, Papi was lying in a hospital bed, dying. Abuela shot him and Calleigh knows now that she has to stay away from that family. She can't help but sob harder at the comfort Eric and Horatio were trying to give. It was hard for her to try and accept it. She wanted to but she felt like she didn't deserve it at all.

They leave and she hears that patrol is backed up and protective detail for her is going to be stalled. She cries harder as they leave. This time cries of relief, she's free from the Navarro's. They couldn't touch her now. It is all going to end. But she knows that if Horatio sent out protective detail for her, that scoot would hear and no doubt tell Abuela. So now Calleigh sobs while waiting for Abuela to come for her.

Calleigh is dosing off just as she hears Mami's voice ring out. Sitting up she sees the woman make the journey to the foot of the bed. "We're leaving now babygirl." Calleigh shakes her head and retreats from the woman.

"No, you don't want to come? That's fine. We'll leave you alone. As long as you keep your mouth shut." Mami makes her way over to Calleigh and plants a kiss on the top of her head. "Te amo"

Calleigh feels the shadow of the kiss and she finds herself craving more. This is why she couldn't stand Horatio's or Eric's touch. She didn't want them, she wanted **them.** "No!" she screams, scrambling to get up. Mami turns at the scream and opens her arms, embracing Calleigh in a tight hug.

"Do I need to bring anything with me?" Calleigh asks.

"Just yourself." Mami smiles and Calleigh grabs her hand, clutching it tight, afraid to let go.

With one last look back Calleigh follows the woman out the front door and into the car. "Hello bebe." Abuela's voice is sad. Angry, Calleigh looks over and doesn't answer. "You'll get answers soon enough." Calleigh nods and looks to Mami for comfort. The same comfort she denied from Horatio an Eric.

Looking up she realized that maybe her biological mother should've geld her like this. Gave her the comfort instead of just ignoring her and telling her to "brush it off, nothing's broken". Sighing Calleigh settles in for the long ride. Her eyes close just as Mami's hands run through her hair.

She jerks awake to Abuela shaking her. Looking up she realizes their in an airstrip. "What…?" she turns to look at Mami heading up the stairs into the jet. With a waving motion Calleigh steps out the car and stops at the bottom of the staircase.

This is it.

Her life is about to change and hopefully for the better. If she gets on this jet, then she's going to kiss the lab and everything she's ever worked, bled, and cried for. But even if she stayed she's a risk of losing it all anyway. And to lose it all and have to be reminded of it every day would utterly destroy her, so Calleigh takes a shaky step up. Each step representing her losing everything and everyone she held dear.

The lab.

Her guns (though she suspected she'll never actually be away from those).

People.

Tom.

Natalia.

Ryan.

Walter.

Frank.

Alexx.

Horatio.

And Eric.

That's all her life dwindled down into eleven steps. Her parents join one step as well as another for her brothers. After giving up her free will and sanity Calleigh joins Mami at the top of the step. Tears brimming in her eyes once more. She turns to look at Miami one last time while she's still on the ground. A small part of her wanting Horatio to show up at the last minute as he usually does with most victims. Bur no one comes as she settles down in her seat, as the jet takes off.

She breaks down completely at the Miami skyline, it's beautiful even more so than when she first saw it all those years ago. "We'll come back. For business mostly, but we'll have to make sure that you're with us. Would you like that?" Mami's calming voice as well as hands caressing her lull Calleigh into a fit of hysteria, but she nods her head vigorously.

Abuela picks up a phone and dials a number, giving Calleigh a small smile. And Calleigh believes in the smile.

Mami gets babygirl to quiet down and she has to steel the woman in her arms for what's coming next. Giving Diego's mother a nod, Vina calls.

"Hello?"

At the sound of Horatio's voice babygirl breaks down again and this time, Calleigh has to cover mouth and take deep reassuring breaths. Hugger tighter, Mami runs her hands through her hair and babygirl cuddles in and listens to the deep rumble of Caine on the other line.

Caine's as well as babygirl's questions are about to be answered and Mami wants to make sure Calleigh hears it all.


	44. Where is She?

"Hello Horatio" he feels himself tensing. Eric looks at him questioning, he holds up a hand and takes a deep breath. "Vina" he all but growls into the phone. Of course she would be the one to call him. What the hell does this woman have to say? At least to him.

"Oh I think you would want to know a few things, get the information on any…thing." Her voice is aggravating.

"You lied to me, Diego never attacked you."

"Oh good job lieutenant, if only you were more attentive. You just can't stop yourself from saving a damsel in distress. I know how you work, how you tick. I know how to play you like a puppet on a string.

"But nevertheless, yes Diego needed some, reinforcement. He never was the same after his father died. Anger issues, many doctor visits, many different prescriptions. He stopped taking them three months ago. He was angry. But that didn't stop me from doing what I did.

"He kept going on and on and on about not needing it. That he has found other ways, a person, that keeps him ground. But he was weak, and the weak must be sorted out."

Horatio could not believe the audacity of this woman! This woman almost killed her son and yet she's talking about how he caused it. "He didn't pull the trigger vina."

"Yes, but he was trying to kill me. Nasty temper that boy." Her chuckle sends Horatio in a whirlwind.

"Speaking of his father, you killed him in cold blood, just as you shot Diego." His voice is confident, despite the fact that he is starting to unnerve.

"Well Alfredo wouldn't agree with some ways, and there is no way I was going to allow that. Like father like son. Alfredo simply had to go. But listen here good lieutenant. Don't turn out like my husband and son." Her voice is steady, and Horatio stops to look at Eric.

He stares back before mouthing Calleigh and Horatio nods. "Was Calleigh like your husband and son?" this is it. The moment of truth.

"Calleigh? Calleigh Duquesne? Hm, she's a dime isn't she? Wait, she _was _a dime. She was the exact opposite of them strong and sure."

Horatio begins to shake, this is not good. "What do you want from her?"

A laugh reaches his ears and he can see Eric start to tense. Walter and Natalia make their way downstairs and Eric fills them in quietly. They all tense and look at Horatio for answers.

"Vina, answer the question. What do you want with her?"

"Oh Horatio, did you not hear me before. But I'll answer anyway. Calleigh was the only one on your team that could be penetrated, corrupted. You won't have to worry about us tainting your CSI anymore."

His fist balls up and he finds himself getting angry.

"Why not Vina? What did you do to Calleigh?" his voice groveling.

"Oh nothing, just a few words and Calleigh understood what she had to do. Very symbolic don't you think?" her laugh makes its way through the phone and Horatio finds himself wavering a bit. He stumbles and Eric catches him.

"Where is her body Vina?" and Eric's eyes fill with tears.

"Wouldn't you like to know? It's interesting how long she took to completely break down. It took three months you know? Three long grueling months to break her down to little pieces of herself. It wasn't that hard. Her parents did most of the work for us, as did your team. Only affirming what we told her over and over and over and over again.

"If you want to know where she is I will tell you. She's in a better place. Happier now."

Horatio feels his tears running down his face. "Where is her body Vina?" the question laced with his sadness.

"Tears lieutenant? I would be crying to. She was a beautiful woman who lit up the whole room whenever she walked in. I enjoyed seeing the light leave her eyes, day after day after day. She was Esteban's little side project. Mental torture is a very powerful thing."

Horatio began to pace, this is not good. Not good at all. Why would Vina keep Calleigh's body hidden?

"Can we at least give her the proper burial." He's pleading now.

"I don't think that's possible. She's buried properly enough. Listen, I'm sort of in a choppy zone, I'll call you if I deem it fit."

"Vina do not hang up on me without any answ…" the line clicks and Horatio throws his phone at the wall.

"H, what happened?" Horatio turns to Eric and shakes his head slowly. Eric's tears fall and he shakes his head in disbelief.

Horatio understands what he's going through. At least with speed, Marisol, and even Jesse, they had a body to bury. Closure. They didn't have her body, couldn't bury her. Calleigh could be anywhere ranging from the Everglades to the Navarro's backyard.

"Calleigh's dead isn't she?" Natalia asks, Walter and her stare at one another, tears falling down as well.

"Yea, she is. Vina said she is buried somewhere. Wouldn't give me a location on her body though."

"We won't be able to bury her?" Walter nods slowly, breaths coming in short pants.

Eric is shaking not being able to come to grips with anything. "Where is Vina?" he simply asks. If they couldn't find Calleigh Horatio's sure that they won't be able to find Vina. With another shake of his head Eric breaks down finally. Heading straight to the hummer to sob in silence and away from prying eyes.

Horatio lost her, his only daughter, she made going to work not seem like a chore. His sunshine is gone, missing for what seems like forever. There is a very small chance of them finding her body. And if she is buried in the Everglades, the moist ground will slow down her decomp for a while. It could be days, weeks, months, and even years to find her. Right now it's just a waiting game. At this point she must've been gone for about five hours now.

Her body will still be warm, but with the temperature outside and the humidity, everything is going to be warm. The search will only be slowed down. Nothing right now is going to help them find her. Hopefully her grave is shallow enough for the next storm to reveal her body's location.

Horatio hates this, this feeling of uselessness. How could this have been happening to her under his nose? He has to be blind to have not noticed it. It is his fault she's dead, no doubt in his head at all. If he had been paying attention, showing interest, then maybe she would be live today. Maybe she would be standing here disappointed in not being able to catch Vina.

Hanging his head, Horatio walks off without another word. Choosing instead to return to his office to sulk and grieve.

Calleigh stares Abuela down. How could this woman be so cold? Killing her husband and possibly her own son! What's to say Abuela won't kill her next?

"Come here bebe." Calleigh makes her way over to the older woman. Sitting next to her without hesitation.

"I know you're angry but you have to be rational, people get in the way. Your Papi is going to be fine. He'll be here in no time soon. Just relax and trust us. We'll be going back and forth from here to Miami, we'll make sure you can tag along."

Calleigh looks at the woman and she wants to hate her, but she can't. Nodding her head Calleigh goes back to Mami.

"Where's Kevin?"

"In a cage, we had to sedate him." Calleigh nods, knowing Kevin hates cages.

Sitting back down Calleigh, places her head on the table. Mami runs her hand through her hair and Calleigh finds herself falling asleep, only to be woken up as the jet lands. Groggy, Calleigh follows the women out and stops to look at the scenery.

This has to be Cuba. The sun seemed different, more vibrant. Probably because there isn't anything in the way of the rays, like buildings that scatter the light and turn it artificial. "The jet is on a private strip and Abuela comes over for clarification.

"My, **our** private jet strip, we own this land, over 1000 acres of sand and beautiful fields."

Calleigh looks left and right, the land stretching for as far as she can see. On her left is sand, stretching for what must be miles, a private beach that stays private for a long stretch. The right shows the same as the left and Calleigh smiles, it is extremely calming. Looking down, the asphalt for the jet strip contrasts greatly with the beach. Obtrusive to the beauty of the nature and Calleigh knows she won't truly miss the artificialness of Miami.

"It's beautiful" is all she says, a soft smile on her face.

Further up she can see a mansion in the distance and a car pulls up. They head in and a soft mewl distracts Calleigh for a second. "Hey Kevin! Just wait a little longer, and I can take you out."

They make their way through a short strip and just like that, Calleigh finds herself staring at a mansion that rivaled the one in Miami.

"You're new home babygirl." Mami's voice rings out and Calleigh gives her a bright smile. Picking up Kevin's cage, Calleigh makes her way up the earth toned stairs and stops at the door. This s all she's going to know from now on. Looking back she sees the two women staring her down with smiles playing on both their lips.

Opening the door, she is met with a grand foyer. A dome shaped foyer that seemed to stretch wide and open up the entire first floor. Just like the house in Miami, marble makes up the floor and extends up the staircase. The mansion seemed to never end, like the beach.

Taking Kevin out of his cage, she pets him and sets him loose. He runs amuck, shaking off the sedation and heads out for his own adventure.

She feels arms slip around her waist and Calleigh leans back into the touch. "Up the stairs babygirl, you'll have plenty of time to adventure later."

So up the stairs she goes, taking in the sight of the way the light from the dome seems to stretch even upstairs. As much as she wants to she doesn't pay attention to where they're going, focusing instead of the soft touch of Mami's hands on the small of her back.

She leads Calleigh through a door and she gasps at the room. The room seems to be just for her. The furniture a modern take on the traditional Southern furniture from her house. The walls a splash of light blue. The dark bed frame holds a canopy and her sheets were a soft blue as well. Stepping in front of the dresser she opens a drawer and finds sweats, in her size. Same goes for the shirts and even the underwear. In the bathroom she finds both vanilla and lavender scented Cuban soaps and different hair supplies. "My room?"

"You're wing actually. It's sort of a tradition, like an induction into the family. Hope you like it. Esteban has been filling us in on some of your likes and dislikes so the room would be ready for you when you arrived." Calleigh smiles even brighter. She stops at the closet, with a shaky hand she opens the doors. She almost faints. The dresses are all sorted by color and dress type. Most of them being summer dresses due to the tropical weather of the Caribbean.

Underneath laid heels of different heights of heels and wedges, as well as a wide array of flats. Stepping in she feels the dresses, top quality, quality that even she would have to wait for her next paycheck to even dream of thinking of buying. The shoes are designer as well, and Calleigh feels herself swooning.

"You in love babygirl?" Calleigh turns and nods vigorously.

"Take a shower and get dressed babygirl, I'll be waiting here after a bath of my own." Mami sits on her bed and Calleigh steps into the bathroom taking a quick shower in the posh bathroom. Wrapping a fluffy towel around herself she takes a look around the room. The shower was open just like Esteban's, the granite tops played well off of the marble floors.

The tub was for one person, perfect for the ultimate bubble baths. Walking out she reaches her new dresser and dresses herself in a shirt and shorts. She takes a gamble and jumps into bed. Sinking into the sheets and a mountain of fluffiness.

The only thing that haunts her is the lack of people. Papi would be here soon enough, and maybe Esteban would find a way to get out of prison, hopefully in a legal way. The team thinks she's dead. And maybe that is for the better. They won't be looking for her as hard. Only for her body in Miami. They will look for Vina but it's not like they can actually arrest her. Cuba and the United States don't have any jurisdiction laws. Vina is untouchable. And so is she.

She climbs underneath the sheets to find a softer tempur pedic. "This is nice."

Mami walks in and slips underneath the sheets. Calleigh goes to lay her head on the woman's chest. "Where's Abuela?"

"On the beach, enjoying a mojito. Not surprised at all. She drinks whenever she's stressed and the beach calms her down almost as much as a cold drink."

"How can you be so cool with everything? Abuela killed her husband and shot yours." Calleigh looks incredulous.

"We couldn't tell you anything at the time, but we can tell you now. But not until the morning. Now lay down. We have all the time in the world." Calleigh nods her head in agreement.

Settling in, Calleigh relaxes as much as possible. Mami rakes her hand through her hair, humming that same song from the first night Calleigh met her. Calleigh drifts off into the darkness, calmed at the thought of finally being able to free herself. Maybe this is the best decision for her and like Mami said, they'd take her to Miami whenever they went for "business" so it's not like she'll miss it that much.

With that, Calleigh finally catches sleep, and in a flash she's in dream land.

**(AN: again, sorry but it had to be this way. It's not the last chapter btw. Maybe two more depending on if I add an epilogue that I have saved. Drop a review if you so wish!)**


	45. Genuine

**6 Months Later**

Diego sets his suitcase down at the foot of the stairs, his cane helping him down the path and into the car.

His head hurt, heart heavy. A week after Esteban's arrest Caine told him of bebe's death. It hit him hard. His mother had crossed the line this time. Bebe was supposed to be left untouched, he hadn't believed Caine, thinking it was some sort of ulterior move. But one look at the good lieutenant's face told him otherwise. Immediately upon reaching home, he had phones his mother only for her to remain tight lipped and evasive. His wife further confirming the fact with her tear filled voice.

He had cried for hours, had even contemplated shooting himself. As much as anyone could believe he loved that woman dearly. Not only did bebe brighten up Esteban, but she brought light to him as well. She was vivacious and she seemed to have curbed his anger. She was good medicine for him. Her smile brightening up his whole day no matter the situation.

So when his mother suggested him taking other medication he exploded, bringing up the investigation about his father, and him subsequently getting shot. Now here he is about to leave to go home without his son and daughter.

His sigh is heavy and he steels himself before heading into the CSI's domain. Caine and his hooligans meet him halfway to the building and Diego gives them a small and sad small.

"Diego." Caine gives him a nod.

"Caine. I just came to personally tell you about a grant I'm giving you." Caine looks suspicious and Diego can't blame him.

"You're bribing us?"

"No Caine I'm not. It's a thank you gift. I would be dead if it weren't for you and I want to say thank you."

"Or you're trying to get rid of guilt. No matter how much money you give us, it won't bring Calleigh back." Caine's voice brings tears to Diego's eyes.

"I miss her more than any of you can believe. Trust me if I knew where her… body was. I'd tell you. She deserves to be buried properly. Surrounded by the people who love her.

"The grant is in her name, and it's annually renewable. I know I can't bring her back, but I can at least help to continue her legacy. She brought me more joy than I could ever imagine. And she's gone. My son's gone I have nothing. So please just accept this." He's being raw. His life held very little in comparison's to bebe's. Though he didn't show her as much he did love her to death.

Delko steps forward and shakes his hand, and the team follows suit. Caine looks him hard before reaching out.

"Thank you Diego. We will use it wisely." And with a nod Diego heads off.

Eric turns to Horatio "he was genuine, that was genuine."

Horatio nods, no one could have seen that coming. There is no way that family is capable of _loving_. At least not from what the team has seen. When Horatio told Diego of Calleigh's death he could see the man break down. It hit Diego hard and the man was speechless, surprised even. There was no way in hell he knew Calleigh's death was coming.

"I didn't think it was possible but yea, that was genuine."

"We might not ever find her will we Horatio?" as positive as Natalia was, reality must've hit her.

"No Natalia we might not." Horatio drops his head once again. The grief rolling through him once again.

He was surprised at how Diego had shown such compassion and hurt. The man was depressed no doubt and for the first time Horatio is upset that he had persecuted the Navarro's so much. He felt guilty for having caused so much pain not just for them, but the whole team. Calleigh would still be alive today had it not been for his meddling.

With a huff Horatio heads home to a drink and the darkness that swallowed him ever since Calleigh died.

Diego found himself growing more apprehensive as the car neared his home in Cuba. A house where he'll find very little joy.

He slowly makes his way to the front door, each step heavy. Opening the door he's greeted by his wife who showers him in kisses. "I'm fine Claudia. You can stop fussing." They walk up the stairs and head to their wing. The room's just like he expected, playing off of both their personalities. Light and dark. He gathers clothes and takes a shower without a word. Claudia looks at him worrying. But he heads straight for the shower. It was late and he'd like to go to sleep.

Finishing and getting out he finally talks to her. "How've you been with everything?" he plants a kiss to her forehead relishing the feel of her in his arms. It felt good to hold her again. To hold someone again.

This woman in his arms had captured his heart many years ago. He was just a teenager, hanging with his friends at a mall when she had walked past them in the food court. He had called her group and they all turned. Getting up, he made his way over to her, set on finding out her name.

"_Hey" he simply states. All the girls look at him with interested. He was a handsome man with his dark eyes and dark hair. He stood tall, and his wardrobe spook his wealth. His cheeky grin made the girls swoon. _

"_How may we help you?" she had asked. Her dark green eyes were flickering with mischief. They were beautiful, never before had he seen such beautiful eyes on a person before. they were very expressove and Diego had to admit that she rocked them better than any other person he has come across. He would love to see those green eyes glitter with happiness. She carried herself differently than the others. More poise and grace, this was definitely a woman that he had to acquaint himself with. His bright smile is met with a brighter one from her._

"_I just wanted to say hey. And so I did." His reply was met with a brghter smile that her eys caught and Diego was mesmerised. There was just something gorgeous about her eyes._

"Pretty good. How about you?" she looks up at him and he sighs. She caresses the back of his head.

He couldn't find the strength to answer

"Do you want to see something?" she says. Without waiting she helps him up and the y walk down the hall. Each step seemed harder as he neared **her** wing. It was a tradition of theirs. The women always got an addition of the house, a place where they could "escape". He had helped to get bebe that wing. Even picked out most of her clothes and the color of her walls.

Stepping into the room, her telltale scent slaps him in the face. It was like she was actually there. "I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry but we had to make you believe."

He looks at her confused as she walks out the door. How could she leave him like this when it was obvious he needed her? He collapses on the bed and forces himself not to cry. Bebe is in a better place now. She must be happy in heaven, with everything she loves around her. Kevin jumps on the bed startling him and for a second he's confused.

His question is answered when a door opens. He stares at the room door to see it not open. "Papi?" he shakes his head, obviously he's gone insane. The feel of a small hand on him has him blinking away tears. Is this what Claudia meant when she said they had to make him believe? They lied to him to keep bebe safe?

"Bebe?" his teary eyes match her green ones. The same green ones that his son had fallen for. They sparkled with joy and happiness despite the tears. and Diego felt himself falling more in love with her. His daughter was safe and sound in his arms. She crashes into him, sobbing her eyes out. She jars his injury, but he could ignore the pain. He grabs hold of her and kisses her head. Rocking her side to side he joins her in sobbing. He had mourned her for six months, blamed himself for her getting killed and even thought of joining her. But here she was, safe and sound in his arms.

All that hate he had managed to have against his mother for betraying him and Esteban dissipated and he gripped bebe tighter. He pulled the sheets back and places her gently on the bed, covering the both of them in the warm cocoon.

He takes a deep breath and smells the vanilla and lavender waft off her freshly showered body.

She tucks herself into him and picks his hands up, motioning for him to run it through her hair. He chuckles and grants her wish. She's alive, perfectly healthy and missed him just as much as he missed her. "Te amo bebe." His voice calm and collected despite the tears.

"Te amo Papi" she replies back and he gives her a fatherly kiss before settling in. he waits for her to calm down and sleep before he allows himself to follow suit.

It was a good thing he didn't choose to pull the trigger when he first learned of her death.

**There will be an epilogue, and then I will properly thank everyone. But for now thanks for reading!**


	46. Epilogue

**1 Year Later**

Calleigh lay in the bed, surrounded by the soft sheets. This morning she found herself bed ridden with the flu. And just like everything Latin, it came in full force and with a lot of heat. She couldn't even enjoy the Miami sun because the flu aggravated her lungs and she is to remain bed ridden (Mami's orders).

Papi had passed on this freaking disease to her. He is beside her sleeping peacefully, as well as keeping an eye out on her just in case she stops breathing. With a smile she allows herself to cuddle into Papi's side. If he woke up she'll just say that her fever is bothering her, she isn't lying but then again she doesn't need a reason to.

In the last year and a half Calleigh found herself shedding her independence. Day after day she felt herself cleaving off the habits that she used to hold dear. While she did enjoy having not to do any cooking and cleaning herself, she still made an effort to help the staff. Abuela had rekindled her love for ballet by registering her in classes so she wouldn't be bored all the time. Calleigh had to admit that she did miss crime fighting, but this laid back lifestyle she had now was like she had retired early.

Some days were hard, she'd be flooded with memories of the team and even had dreams of joining them again. But when she woke up, she was in her room in Cuba. She would be saddened by the thoughts and found herself walking into Mami and Papi's room or Abuela's late in the night.

After a coughing fit that disrupts both the silence and Papi's peace she remembers how she had completely broken down.

_About two weeks in, realization hit Calleigh. She had betrayed the team, the ultimate betrayal._

_Ryan at least was trying to help them by paying Michael Lipton the money back five years ago, he put himself on the line of questioning. Paying off Lipton allowed for the leverage to be in the end Ryan hadn't gone against the wind. It all blew over. Ryan was up and down after that, and she helped in as much as she could. She thought of Ryan like a little brother and she was being the older sister helping him through his troubles._

_Natalia was a tricky matter but in all context, she was right in her actions. Calleigh had noticed that almost immediately. She was paid to spy on the lab, and instead of ratting them out, she supplied good information to Monica. Calleigh respected, and still respects Natalia for that decision. Although their friendship started really rocky, after the mole incident, she can honestly say that Natalia is her best female friend. No, Natalia was her best female friend._

_Eric was another matter, he had spied on the team, going as far as to look up everything about them In order to find the diamonds, she had been hurt deeply and that was the last strike for her. She backed away from him, tired of all the lying. Eric had turned into Jake, leaving in the middle of the night, and being very secretive around her. It was too much so Calleigh told Eric that they are better off friends. They remained as such and her "love you like family" was enough to let him know that she wasn't kidding. _

_Horatio was a no brainer. They had broken away a long time ago. After Speed's death, he had broken down. Their embrace in the locker room did nothing for him apparently and Calleigh chose to ignore it. After that he made it his personal duty to push past the necessary and help the victim out. It didn't occur to Calleigh that he was diving into every case until he got involved with Marisol. She wasn't disgusted by their relationship like Eric, but more like disappointed. Horatio can't help but be a superhero to a damsel in distress._

_Calleigh shook her head at the whole fiasco. Marisol was killed not even a day after their wedding, and as much as she disliked the relationship of damsel and savior, she was saddened. But instead of going to the team he grabbed Eric and they headed to Brazil. That should've been a warning for her. After everything, Horatio only expected her to fill his role, but not actually be there. He pushed her back into the sidelines and kept her on the bench unless he needed something. He thought her invincible, so he put her behind him. Everyone leaned on her for support and between doing her job, and Horatio's, she found herself becoming a mediator. Horatio hadn't even been there for them when Cooper used Speed's credit card. It became a game of fix Horatio's mess while guessing what the hell happened._

_Stetler and O'Shay breathing down her neck didn't help him one bit. The resentment just continued to build. When she needed her teammates they figured she didn't need it. The only time when they helped her was when she was kidnapped, and the smoke inhalation. Other than those instances, she was by herself. _

_It was that loneliness that had won out. The Navarro's offered her something she didn't have, a stable life. She thought she had found it with Eric but he just proved himself otherwise. Here in Cuba, she had the ability to speak up. The ability to finally be her, arose. She chose the life of crime over fighting it. It was a losing battle for the good guys anyway. Every day they gave their all believing that they were doing something good, but the Navarro's alone proved otherwise._

Calleigh had been in Abuela's room alone when those thoughts came flooding in. She had broken down in a fit of hysterics, needing her inhaler when Abuela had stormed in. Earlier Abuela had been arguing on the phone with a "customer" who gave her a headache. She was volatile and Calleigh found herself walking on eggshells around her grandmother. When Abuela stormed in, Calleigh jumped fifty feet into the air, shaking and rocking herself back and forth. Calleigh began muttering to herself about becoming a criminal and that what she did was inexcusable. Instead of anger the woman had responded with softness and understanding. Taking Calleigh into her arms and whispering words of comfort. Telling Calleigh that she was better off with them and not with Caine and his evil hold.

"_I betrayed them, I'm stabbing them in the back. I'm a horrible person." Calleigh cried out once again. Abuela rested Calleigh on her chest and pulled the sheets over her head, and began to pat her back. "It's fine bebe. This is for the better. We'll take care of you from now on. You didn't betray the team, thy betrayed you. How could they let something like this happen to you? We didn't do much on our part. But the team wasn't paying much attention to you, we were able to grab you from their grasps without them realizing. What does that say to you? They never cared for you. You were just put onto the back burner, only taking you out from the back of the closet when you proved useful."_

_Abuela's words dug deep into her psyche, she chose to believe the half-truth and take comfort in her voice. Calleigh nuzzled deeper into the women's breasts and decides that from this day on she will no longer question herself or the Navarro's. She was and will continue to be with them. Abuela hugged her tighter and the familiar hand through her hair sent Calleigh into a state of peace._

That was something Calleigh found refreshing, Eric had done the same thing. Let her cry and then explain. She didn't ever feel rushed in any of their arms. Always calm and collected. She didn't have to be strong anymore, didn't have to put up a front. Whatever emotion Calleigh had, she made sure to show. Mami could sense every emotion on her anyway. It wasn't like she could downplay it.

And Abuela hated whenever Calleigh tried to hide something from her. The woman would sit her down and badger her until Calleigh finally spilled the beans. Papi is a lot easier to open up to. It helps that he treats her like a rare jewel. Taking her into his arms whenever they were together and holding her close to him whenever she felt down. He didn't even need to ask her, one look at her face and he was over her, protecting her. "You're my medicine, so let me be yours." Is all he would say and Calleigh would tell him anything that would bother her.

Problems from her unstable childhood, filled with drinking and occasionally a belt. Taking care of her brothers while her parents were hung over, cleaning the house and being a straight A student to make her mother and father proud. Only for them to continue to drink and ignore all four of the children.

Shaking off the memories of her old life she snuggles in deeper and is interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hello little one."

That nickname was new. He had given it to her about seven months ago during his weekly check-up. "Hi Chief Collins"

"Enough with the formalities. I know it's been a while since we've last talked. How ya been?" her coughing fit was enough for him to grimace. "Yea, I know about your flu. Take it easy okay?"

He looks a bit distracted. "What's wrong?" her voice croaking as she fights another fit of coughing.

"As you know, Esteban has been released, and put on house arrest. We managed to slip through the cracks with you. Because there was no sign of actual distress in your case, you've been liberated." Calleigh's eyebrows shoot up to the ceiling. That had to be string pulling. For her not to be held accountable for her actions had to be some very, very, very convincing checks.

"Samantha Owens committed murder, that's why it was easy for us to convince the judge on this ruling. I know you know about the Owns case. She was such an easy target, too bad that young man's dead though. He would've been an incredible asset. But besides that, I'm here to give you a head's up.

"You, and I mean only you can bring the Navarro's down. The judge had to play it off by saying you have to report that a crime had taken place with you as the victim." His handsome face is tilted to the side, voice softer than the steel projected in his words.

She nods her head and smiles back. "Don't they think I'm dead? What's the heads up?"

He chuckles, "Esteban gets released next month, and the team is heading over here right now to try and get you to report him. And as for the death thing, they thought you were dead up until Owens murdered her boyfriend. It was a bluff to tell them you're not dead. We hoped that Caine would be too stunned to process anything and we were right. At first he swore up and down and the whole lab was tense. They went over the original crime scene photos of your house as well as this one and found nothing that told them whether or not you're alive. There was no sign of a fight in either place, you weren't kidnapped technically. Hell even FBI profilers were brought in, they didn't find anything saying you were kidnapped. With everything that's been going on with Owens' case, their defense was weak and now you have free choice."

Calleigh bursts out in laughter. As to what was going on she didn't know, but the laughter helps clear her head of confusion. Collins shakes his head. "You know I'm not going to say anything. I'm way past the point of questioning myself and where I stand. And thanks for the head's up, I would start a conversation but I want to sleep."

He kisses her forehead, "Alright little one. See you soon. Sleep well."

Calleigh lays back down trying to gather strength. This was going to be annoying. The team is probably making their way over right now. Itching to get a scratch at her. Ignoring them for the moment she decides a light nap would suffice for now.

Horatio and the team found themselves in two separate hummers, racing to the Navarro residence. Owens' trial had fallen to shambles and Esteban had been let loose, free of all charges. Not only was that a kick to the team's morale, but now they ad monthly check-ups to make sure the lab is running smoothly as well as surprise accreditation updates. All it took was less than two years for the lab to slip ranks.

They were lucky that they didn't get shut down, only because they were second in the country as well as the only lab in Miami-Dade. It seemed that god did look over them. He'll take the small blessing.

"Do you think she'll say something H?" Eric asks. Horatio turns to look at him, Natalia and Ryan both looks at him, eyes wide in expectation. "I don't know Eric, she hasn't been herself for a while now has she? We know that they have been working on her since the Nunez murder."

Ryan mumbles something under his breath. But whatever it was is worth sharing so he speaks up. "We've been thinking about this for a while. Stetler and O'Shay have been working on Calleigh for maybe years before the Navarro's showed up. Esteban used Nunez's murder as an anchor to sink Calleigh in. For those three weeks in her vacation, he probably spent every day with her. The whole family worked their way into her head, and it's not like work was an escape for her."

Nodding Horatio accepts this theory. They were too blind to see what was happening to their bullet girl. It wasn't like she reached out for help, or maybe her defiance was her reaching out. Calleigh wasn't- no she **isn't** someone who would go silently. Horatio just had to let his pride get in the way if he just manned up, Calleigh would be here with them.

"Diego lied to us, even put a grant in her name to further dig in the insult." Natalia's voice laced with the tears in her eyes.

"No he didn't Natalia. He was near death when she was taken and the fact that he looked so surprised that she had been 'killed' by Vina. He was crying, hysterical even. Calleigh's so called death was not in the plan that Diego had been a part in."

They pull into the driveway just as Horatio finishes his thoughts. Walter, Tom, and Frank meet up with them at the front door and Horatio raises his hand to knock. He steps back just as the door swings open. A woman stands at about 5'11'', hair a light brown, eyes a deep forest green. She is as beautiful as any woman he's ever met.

"Hello lieutenant, to what do I owe you the pleasure of your visit?" her accent is refreshing, her voice dripping with her Cuban descent.

"We'd like to speak to Calleigh please." He offers no sort of small talk, he was done with the bullshit.

"I'm Claudia Navarro, nice to meet you too." The woman remains unfazed by his curt words.

"Esteban's mother? We assumed you were…"

"Killed? By who Mami or Diego?"

Horatio shrugs, the only action he found to be appropriate.

"She's in the living room. But I'm telling you this once, she has the flu. Her lungs are aggravated. If you upset her, you will leave without further notice. I don't care if you didn't get what you want. Any complaint I hear from babygirl and your ass is mine. Comprender?" she gives him a pointed glare and he can feel himself nodding.

She walks p a flight of stairs and the team head to the left. "She's scary." Frank's voice echoes off of the walls. "Yea, remind me not to piss her off." Walter jokes and before Horatio can agree a flash of gold catches his eyes. There she was in the flesh, whole, and nothing out of place.

Flu aside, she had a glow that could only be attributed to the Cuban sun, her skin is flawless, not a blemish in sight. The flu paled her skin, but only slightly. Her hair ran down her back, tickling the small of her back, reminding him of when the lab was first built and when the team first started. But it wasn't the same platinum that he knew it as, this time it had been kissed golden by the sun.

When she turns her head at the sound of Walter's voice, he can see that her face is just as beautiful as he could remember, her eyes a shimmering emerald green. She drops her tablet on the couch and he can see her eyes brighten in a smile and her mouth follows suit as she realizes who they are. "Hi!"

He can hear the team behind him gasp. At least she isn't being as cold as she used to be. In fact this happiness now surprised him, it's been years since she's been this happy. What did the Navarro's do in order for her to be this happy?

"Calleigh?" Eric steps forward and sits down on the couch next to her hesitantly. She gives him a bright smile and throws her arms around him in a tight hug. Eric with a teary smile, hugs her back with full force. She breaks the hug as a fit of coughs interrupt her. After her fit she motions for everyone to hug her. One by one they all give her a hug and Horatio even squeezes her harder.

"How have you been Calleigh?" he asks her with a small smile.

"Me? Oh I'm perfectly fine, better than that. I'm perfect. How are you guys? You had to live with the fact that I've been dead for over 18 months?" Calleigh's face held a hint of mischief but mostly concern.

They all were taken aback by her question but Horatio answers for them. "We've mourned, still in the process of mourning." He looks for the typical Calleigh reaction of looking away and a curt answer.

"I'm sorry." She says quietly, they look up to see Calleigh's eyes brimming with tears.

Horatio sits next to Calleigh and gathers her into his arms, still not believing she's real. She hugs back with more vigor and Horatio feels a tear slip. She's alive in his arms, completely unhar…

"Calleigh do you mind if we check you over? Just for me?" he asks nervously.

She eyes him warily before nodding at Tom.

Calleigh does everything in her power to keep their suspicions at bay. Tom didn't remove all her clothes, only pressing to check for bruising. She answers the routine questions honestly, seeing as none of the Navarro's currently here have actually assaulted her, both physically and sexually.

Walter and Ryan both look relieved when she told them that she hadn't suffered any abuse while outside the country. Tom looks satisfied over his impromptu search and rubs a hand down her back. "I'm glad you're okay"

She gives him a warm smile, "I know you guys. You didn't come here just to check up on me, what's going on?"

Natalia bends her head down. "We uh, we lost all evidence against Esteban."

Calleigh's eyebrows hit her hairline, of course she knew this from before, but to hear them admit weakness was new. Desperate times, desperate measures.

"Really? Oh shit, I read about Samantha's uhhh, indiscretion but I didn't think it would go so far back." It wasn't hard to keep the disbelief in her voice, as she was surprised they let something like that happen.

"But that aside. What do you want from me?"

Horatio grabs her hand, eyes downcast. "We would greatly appreciate if you gave us…"

"Information on Esteban? You want me to report any crimes committed against me? Don't look so surprised, I was in your shoes many times before this." Her breathing picks up as her anger becomes more apparent. "Cal, we want you to come home."

"Eric, look around at where we are. I am home."

"That's right, you've spent what? Three months with Esteban Calleigh? I doubt that's a long enough time for you to acquaint yourself with these people." Wolfe is up to his usual snarky ways again and now Calleigh goes on guard.

Horatio turns to look at Wolfe, this is going the awry. Here they initially thought that Calleigh had been forced or coerced into going to Cuba with the Navarro's but now it seems that Calleigh **chose** to go with them. "Calleigh, you're clearly suffering from…"

"Stockholm syndrome, over a year and a half ago, I would've agreed with you. But it's too late for that now. I know what I want and it's not reporting any of these people. I'm happy here. Finally happy. And no it's not because I have all this money at my fingertips, and no not because anything I want I can have within the blink of an eye. It's because I know where I stand, I have stability."

Eric's breath hitches "Calleigh, if you had come to us when we tried to help, you would've been able to have that. We would've helped you. Don't tell me you don't miss the lab?"

"I do, trust me I miss solving puzzles. But besides that, I would not be happy. That job was wearing me down, picking up after all of you guys. I just needed an escape."

"And Esteban granted you that." Horatio nods at her understanding. He knew that she was nearing her end. All those years she's spent as she puts it, "picking up" after the team must have gotten to her. so many things happened to her in such a quick succession that Horatio is surprised she didn't leave sooner. But still she's in cahoots with these criminals and he had to help her.

She isn't his sweet Calleigh anymore, she was one of **them**.

"I don't want to treat you like a suspect Calleigh."

She gives him a solemn look. "Well you're going to have to have to. I'm not reporting any crime that could've been held against me. I'm not in any danger Horatio. I'm safe, I'm not a victim. Nor am I a criminal. A person of circumstance however, I might be. Listen, if I feel like my life is in danger I will call either of you guys." She pulls her phone out of her pocket and hands it to Horatio.

"I don't remember your numbers. Sorry."

Horatio looks down at the phone in his hands. She had means to contact them, seeing as she was playing on a tablet when they entered the room, and she clearly had a phone with a US number. "It's fine Calleigh. Just, just call us if anything happens. Promise?" he looks up into her eyes hopeful.

Calleigh nods and offers a smile.

"Promise."

**3 Weeks Later**

Esteban makes his way up the stairs and through his home doors, catching that damned ankle monitor on the door frame. "Esteban, I didn't expect you to make such a ruckus, just barely seconds after returning home for the first time in over a year."

Esteban looks up to see his mother shaking her head at him. He runs over to her and embraces her in a tight hug. "I missed you too, you need a haircut. Now go see your Papi so he can laugh at you. Abuela went back to Cuba for business so you'll be spared from her."

Esteban rolls his eyes at his mother's cheekiness. He runs his hands through his haggard hair, which had grown to his eyes and touched the bottom of his ears. With a kiss on her cheek he runs up the stairs and jumps onto his father. "What the hell bebe?"

"Did she get fat while I was gone? Don't tell me she ate her feelings?"

His father looks up at him and his grin grows. "Mi hijo! I see you've decided to… uh do something with your hair." Esteban groans as his father laughs. Of course he would be getting teased, at least his father had some humor in him. More so than Esteban previously thought. But then again, Leigh has that lasting effect on people. "Oh hush Papi. Just trying out a new look." Mami walked in and they stayed with one another catching up on Esteban's trysts in prison. Ranging from meeting low-lives to the big name connections like Mala Noche and even the Russian Mob.

"How's Leigh?" Esteban asks nervously.

"Go check for yourself. I would like to return to my movie now. "

With an exaggerated sigh and a huff he heads off for his wing.

The door opens quietly and Esteban slips in. She's on the bed, back turned to the door, laptop on a scary movie on Netflix. Ever so quietly he stalks her, waiting to pounce.

At just the right tense moment in the film he jumps her. ""OW!" the scream came from him. She had whipped around and had elbowed him in the ribs. She gives him an incredulous look before dissolving in a fit of laughter. He immediately attacks her, tickling her into a fit of hysteria.

When her breathing switches he stops and settles her on his chest. She stares up at him and he smiles back. "How have you been Leigh?"

Leigh smiles brightly "I had lunch today with Natalia."

"Oh how did that go?"

"She tried to get me to report you. But just like the past three weeks I just let it run down my back."

He takes the time to run his hands down her body, feeling every curve of her body pressed against him. "Mmm. Glad to see you're with me."

"Oh you know I'm not going to say anything." She bats her eyelashes at him and her green eyes shining brightly up at him.

He lifts her chin and their lips meet for the first time in a year and a half. Calleigh breaks the kiss and moves her laptop to the nightstand.

"Leigh, I'm glad that you've been very, very loyal to me and our family."

Calleigh kisses him again and he grabs her fully. Rolling around, Esteban pins her underneath him, "How. About. I. Show. You. Who's. Boss?" he slips his hands under her dress and slips it over her head.

Calleigh slips his buttons through his shirt and with one sentence, Esteban knew that she's his forever.

"Oh Esteban. You and I both know I belong to you."

**The End**


End file.
